- Samuel Shem
Samuel Shem is the
pen-name of the Americanpsychiatrist Stephen Joseph Bergman (1944-). His main works are "The House of God " and "Mount Misery ", both fictional but close-to-real first-hand descriptions of the training of doctors in theUnited States .Bergman was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford in 1966, and was tutored by
Denis Noble FRS, cardiac physiologist and later head of the Oxford Cardiac Electrophysiology Group. In an address to Dr. Noble's retirement party Balliol, he related that Denis Noble's response to Bergman's attempt to become a writer was to ply him with copious sherry.He was an intern at
Beth Israel Hospital (subsequently renamed Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) which inspired the book "The House of God ".Bergman is as of 2005
professor of psychiatry atHarvard Medical School , division of addictions. He lives inNewton, Massachusetts with his wifeJanet Surrey and a daughter.Shem's play "
Bill W. and Dr. Bob " had an Off Broadway run at New World Stage in New York City. It ran for 132 performances and closed on June 10, 2007. "The New York Times " called it "An insightful new play."His works are:
* "The House of God " (1978)
* "Fine" (1985)
* "Mount Misery " (ISBN 0-8041-1555-9)
* "Bill W. and Dr. Bob " (play onalcoholism and the founders ofAlcoholics Anonymous - Bill W. and Dr Bob, 1990)
* "We Have to Talk: Healing Dialogues Between Men and Women" (with Janet Surrey, 1999, ISBN 0-465-09114-8)
* "The Spirit of the Place" (ISBN 978-0-87338-942-6, expected June 2008)References
*
External links
* [http://www.samuelshem.com Official website]
* [http://www.billwanddrbob.com Bill W. and Dr. Bob.] - Shem's off-Broadway show
* [http://upress.kent.edu/books/Shem_S.htm The Spirit of the Place] - link to publisher's page
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