CODE RED
A young Christian surgeon finds Job helps him face death
By Andrew J. Drain
Christian Medical Fellowship. 101 pages. £5.00
ISBN 978-0-906747-40-7
Available from http://www.cmf.org.uk
This book is the autobiographical account of Andrew Drain’s battle with Leukaemia. Andrew was an aspiring cardiothoracic surgeon until he became ill in September 2007 and this is his account of the last three years of his life.
It tells the story of his illness from diagnosis to shortly before his death in the summer of 2010. His account is deeply moving and he writes in a very absorbing style. I found I was hooked from the moment I started and I pretty much read it in one sitting.
However, the author’s aim is not just to tell his story but to point the reader to the book of Job and its message of God’s sovereignty in our lives. His chapters on Job were the basis of a sermon series that Andrew preached while he was unwell and, as such, are written through the eyes of someone who is experiencing suffering first hand. This makes his writing all the more readable and inspiring. His exposition of Job falls into three chapters giving a helpful and concise overview of the main themes of the book. Published by the Christian Medical Fellowship, it clearly has an obvious audience for medical and nursing staff. It contains a very useful (and enlightening) chapter on reflections of receiving medical care from a patient’s perspective. I warmly recommend it.
Rachel Lawrence,
pastor’s wife and health visitor, Dunstable
