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Sarah Masters reviews the film

Investigation of a Flame

Investigation of a Flame tells the story of the Catonsville Nine, who consciously and thoughtfully broke the law in an act of civil disobedience. Three Catholic priests, including the Berrigan brothers Daniel and Philip, joined a group of protesters that included an artist, a nurse and four other individuals. On May 17, 1968, these individuals entered the draft board office in Catonsville, Maryland, and burned selective service records.

The subsequent trial of the Catonsville Nine emboldened the American public to protest the Vietnam War.

Investigation of a Flame, which explores this Sixties protest, resonates today, a time in which so many individuals look to violence rather than civil disobedience as a publicity tool.

Director Lynne Sachs interweaves archival footage of the actual event with a series of informal interviews with the Berrigans and other members of the Catonsville Nine. The meditative documentary will encourage chaplains to ponder the contemporary relevance, or lack of relevance, of acts of civil disobedience, and will hopefully give them the courage to sacrifice individuality for the greater good.

Completed: 2001
Running Time: 45 Minutes
Director: Lynne Sachs

If you are interested in purchasing this film, you can do so at amazon.com. The cost of the DVD is $21.99.

Sarah Masters is the Managing Director of the Hartley Film Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to cultivation, support, production and distribution of the best documentaries and audio meditations on world religions, spirituality, ethics and well-being.

Book Review

Rev. George H. Richardson reviews

How Doctors Think

“Clinical Pastoral Education for Physicians,” could be the sub-title for this insightful book. How Doctors Think is about how doctors get it right, and about why they sometimes get it wrong, As Dr. Groopman states, “[m]ost errors are mistakes in thinking. And part of what causes these cognitive errors is our inner feelings, feelings we do not readily admit to and often don't realize.” Here is a physician who is openly examining his own emotional world and encouraging others physicians to do the same. He and his colleagues who are willing to answer his tough questions discover that sometimes their emotions get in the way of their world of medicine.

At the same time, Dr. Groopman admits this is a two way event. “Patients and their loved ones swim together with physicians in a sea of feelings. Each needs to keep an eye on a neutral shore where flags are planted to warn of perilous emotional currents.” Certainly he advocates a patient taking charge of his or her care by partnering with the physician.

This book is written for both clinicians and the patient population. It includes specific examples of real physicians and patients. Multiple disciplines are covered, such as, pediatrics, radiology, oncology, and hematology. The honesty is refreshing, even as Dr. Groopman states, “Specialization in medicine confers a false sense of certainty.”

Dr. Groopman suggests simple questions that can empower the patient and help refocus a physician's attention: “What's the worst thing this can be?” and “What body parts are near where I am having my symptom?” Another doctor tells Groopman that she was helped when her patient said, “Don't save me from an unpleasant test just because we're friends.”

I found the lack of gender sensitivity troubling as Groopman continually refers to physicians in general as “he.” If the reader can overlook this flaw, it is well worth the effort. It is refreshing to hear a physician grapple with some of the same emotional issues with which I, as a chaplain, also grapple.

Read the book or listen to the audio CD[1]; this is a fresh look into the doctor's world. The reader will be warmed by the truth and honesty with which Dr. Groopman looks at himself. He also encourages his colleagues to look at themselves and become professionals who admit their mistakes to themselves and sincerely seek to learn from them for the sake of their patients. I would recommend it for all who are in healthcare.

Groopman, Jerome. How Doctors Think. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2007, 320 pp.

Footnote:

The CD Audio edition download ©2007 Jerome Groopman, M.D.; (P) 2007 Tantor Media Inc.

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