There are titles for books, and then there are titles. “From Testicles to Timbuktu – Notes from a Family Doctor” is a TITLE!
Covertly written from behind the confines of a lab coat, this book reveals the inner workings of one those strange creatures who make their life’s work fixing folks.
From Testicles to Timbuktu: Notes from a Family Doctor is by Geordie Fallis, M.D. Illustrated by Joan Crawford, and is published by Flawlis Publishing. It is 119 pages in length, and also available as an audio book.
Frequently irreverent and affectionate, Toronto doc Geordie Fallis entered medical school in 1972 and began keeping a journal. It was never his intent to share his reflections with anyone, but, as he found himself using more and more humor in his practice, the reaction of a few special patients caused him to rethink that decision. The result is From Testicles to Timbuktu – Notes from a Family Doctor.
While most folks fuss over clean underwear and socks to show doctors the best of us, Fallis reveals that doctors are really only interested in the rest of us. His medical tales and experiences range from viewing his first nude patient to witnessing the miracle of birth. And, on occasion, even went from inserting fingers to inserting arms when called upon to assist distressed animals because a vet was too far away to help.
From Testicles to Timbuktu – Notes from a Family Doctor is very humorous, but it also has a softer side, and those stories reveal Geordie’s deep affection and respect for his patients. In fact, his compassionate commentary about the everyday antics that caring for his patients entails, and the deep humility it has invoked, caused the renowned, Independent Publisher Book Awards to declare From Testicles to Timbuktu as ‘IP Notable’. Their opinion was as follows, “This book is more than just a recount of a lot of medical hoopla, it is a book of deep human connections. Dr. Fallis has a gift greater than good bedside manner. These anecdotes prove he is more than just a doctor, but a listener, an observer, someone who truly cares.”
Asked to comment about his literary endeavor, Fallis replied, “Woven throughout these real life situations is the premise that, in life and work, most of us respond positively to four attributes: kindness, understanding, sympathy and humor. From Testicles to Timbuktu: Notes from a Family Doctor has a heavy emphasis on humor.” And, he adds, “As one of my colleagues pointed out, ‘You just can’t make this stuff up’.”
About the Author:
Geordie Fallis, MD, CCFP, began his education at Armour Heights Public School in Toronto. In 1960, at the age of ten, he was selected president of the Red Cross for his grade five class. Since then, it has been pretty much all downhill. Along the way, he graduated from Queen’s University with a BA, completed his medical degree at McMaster University, and family medicine residency at the University of Toronto – all before the advent of computers. He has practiced family medicine in remote areas of British Columbia, Newfoundland, Africa, and East York. Today, he is chief of family practice at the Toronto East General Hospital, chair and practicing physician at the Southeast Toronto Family Health Team, and an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Geordie is married, with three children and a dog named Kodie.
