The World Regained (review)

Dennis McEldowney. The World Regained. Originally published in 1957. Reprint, Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press, 2001. 138 pp. Ill. $N.Z. 34.95 (paperbound, 1-86940-2537).

At the time when Dennis McEldowney was born with the tetralogy of Fallot, there was no effective treatment for that congenital cardiac malformation. As a "blue baby," he suffered the effects of a progressively inadequate circulation, and from later childhood he was essentially confined to his New Zealand home and could not undertake the slightest exertion. His world consisted of his parents and their visitors, the view from his window, and his books and radio. The Blalock procedure to correct the condition was later developed at Johns Hopkins, and changed the author's life when he was twenty-four: he rejoined the wider world in person.

This book is Dennis McEldowney's autobiography. First, he writes of the years spent apart from much of society, in a narrative that is vivid, witty, and always matter-of-fact rather than preachy or self-pitying. It was simply the world as he knew it, and his descriptions are rich and canny. His experience of medical care as he accepts, undergoes, and successfully recuperates from the operation are portrayed next, with an eye for detail and an ear for the telling snippet of dialogue. We hear of his parents' travails, and become acquainted with the characters and personalities of the medical personnel who treated him, and with his fellow hospital patients. McEldowney has a warmth and ability to connect with others that enriches us with similar capabilities.

Lastly, there is the process of adjusting to the world. How strange (and sometimes difficult) it all seems at first, as he goes grocery shopping, or to tea, or crosses a crowded street at rush hour. Even to sit out in the open, under nothing but the sky, is a new experience, as is attendance at films, plays, and concerts. He must learn how to exchange the minor pleasantries that are expected in casual conversations with passers-by. McEldowney's writing is so strong that we see through his eyes the essential strangeness of the familiar; we also see his gradual adjustment from his own point of view.

This reissue contains unobtrusive explanatory footnotes, evocative photographs, and a pleasant and interesting introduction, all of which were absent from earlier editions. I can think of only the mildest criticism: the language of New Zealand a half-century ago is a version of English slightly archaic to an American today, and occasionally a usage is idiosyncratic enough to obscure its meaning, at least for a moment or two. Still, over all, this is a very enjoyable book. Moreover, there is much to glean about the history of medicine in its pages, from the point of view of a patient who lived through an important advance and can describe the experience and its impact in a most articulate way. The book also provides an interesting contrast to population-based studies of medical history that are conducted by social scientists besotted with statistics and questionnaires. Having conducted such studies myself, it is refreshing to see the depth of psychological insight that may be gained from a single engaging memoir.

The World Regained is published by the University of Auckland Press. I can only hope that this distant, fairly small publishing house has the marketing muscle to make this book widely available in the United States so that it may enjoy a wider distribution. They have reissued a book that is interesting both as a story and as medical history.