May 2007
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Renaissance man
When 36-year-old Chris Adrian, MD, received a stethoscope from his mother at age 5, he knew right then that he wanted to be a doctor. "It was the only thing I ever wanted to be," he says. But before heading off to medical school, he spent a few years in the prestigious writing program at the University of Iowa to earn a Master's degree in fiction, and he's been pursuing his dual interests in writing and medicine ever since.
Adrian just published his second novel, The Children's Hospital, which he wrote while he was finishing his residency in San Francisco—long before he knew he'd be working in the Emergency Department at Children's Hospital Boston. His dark novel is about the people in a children's hospital, who are the only survivors of a world-wide flood. "Being locked in a hospital for 30 hours at a stretch is part of what made me think of a hospital that was its own world," he says, remembering his experiences as a medical resident. "The perspective is shaped by my experience as a very tired student," he laughs.
The book's gloomy plot is paired with an element of humor that Adrian learned was of the utmost importance while working in the high-stress medical field. "Everyone uses humor to keep their sanity in grim situations," he says. "And those who manage to keep their sense of humor at hour 36 aren't as debilitated. Besides, I couldn't write about the end of the world totally straight and have people take it seriously."
The 480-page book is narrated by four all-knowing angels, which speaks to Adrian's interest in theology. In his spare time, he's pursing a Master's of Divinity from Harvard University, which he hopes will not only add depth to his writing, but provide him with counseling training that will help him with his work in pediatric oncology, a specialty he plans to pursue.
Adrian is well aware that his passions for novel writing, studying religion and pediatric oncology aren't found together on your average resume. "I get a lot of surprised looks when I tell people what I do," he says. "But I've never met anyone who thinks it's a terrible idea—people are tickled that I'm doing what I'm doing."
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