Walk on Water

Described by one surgeon as “soul-crushing, diamond-making stress,” surgery on congenital heart defects is arguably the most difficult of all surgical specialties. Drawing back the hospital curtain for a unique and captivating look at the extraordinary skill and dangerous politics of critical surgery in a pediatric heart center, Michael Ruhlman focuses on the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, where a team of medical specialists—led by idiosyncratic virtuoso Dr. Roger Mee—work on the edge of disaster on a daily basis. Walk on Water offers a rare and dramatic glimpse into a world where the health of innocent children and the hopes of white-knuckled families rest in the hands of all-too-human doctors.Walk On Water1. "Roger, We Got a Problem": An Introduction to the Beautiful, Horrible World of Pediatric Heart Surgery

2. The Virtuoso

3. Bad Hearts

4. Scaramouche

5. A Beautiful Heart

6. Serious Business

7. The Physician's Assistant

8. "The Physical Genius"

9. The Good, the Bad, and the Good Enough

10. The Norwood

11. What's It All About Anyway?

Sources and Acknowledgments
Resources for Parents

Michael Ruhlman is the author of The Making of a Chef, The Soul of a Chef, and Charcuterie. He has also collaborated with Thomas Keller on two cookbooks, The French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon. Additionally, Ruhlman has written for The New York Times, Gourmet, Saveur, and Food Arts magazine, as well as being featured on the PBS series Cooking Under Fire.