Night Slices: Stories, Dr. Etienne Loic

An observation of assault and battery, gastroenteritis, insomnia, or a mystical delusion... Beyond these apparent ailments, there are many other distresses, never admitted in broad daylight, that the doctor uncovers in the dead of night. As a night doctor for S.O.S. Médecins, Loïc Etienne has been practicing for nearly twenty years, crisscrossing Paris and its suburbs according to calls and emergencies. Here, he shares his "Night Slices," everyday dramas that fill the silence and only express themselves when the city sleeps and suffering becomes unbearable. Yet, it is with humor and sensitivity that the author highlights the central place of the doctor in our society, their indispensable role of proximity and listening to relieve both bodies and souls. Continuing the reflection begun in "La Mort du sorcier," he stages it here in short stories that are true experiences, from dusk till dawn, better X-raying than a sociologist this human misery that culminates in solitude and silence, and that the night doctor, a modern-day adventurer, soothes and sometimes heals.