Magnificent Obsession
by Lloyd C.Douglas, 1929,
Willett, Clark & Company, New York, 330 pp.
Magnificent Obsession was written by the Rev. Lloyd C. Douglas, the well-known author of The Robe. He was the minister at the Congregation Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., which is only a few blocks from the University Hospital. It has always been a poorly kept secret in Michigan that Edgar A. Kahn, MD, was the neurosurgical inspiration for Magnificent Obsession.
The novel tells the story of Bobby Merrick, a neurosurgeon who is given the secret journal of his mentor that contains the magic formula for success. The journal is written in code, which is miraculously solved by the young neurosurgeon. He learns of a “particular investment of himself as a high altruism.” Dr. Merrick finds that fulfillment is best achieved by providing secret service for others. He experiences the joy of doing wonderful things for people in need. He requires secrecy and suggests, if possible, the good deed be passed on to someone else in need. Douglas preaches a very religious sermon with this novel. In addition, to the main theme of this book, there is a lot of romance thrown in.
Magnificent Obsession was made into a movie starring Rock Hudson as Dr. Kahn. It strongly emphasized the romantic side of the story more than the neurosurgeon’s obsession with giving of himself to others.
Dr. Kahn was my hero and he made me a neurosurgeon. It has always been my goal to emulate Dr. Kahn in my practice of neurosurgery. He certainly passed on his magnificent obsession to all of his residents. We were amazed at his ability to give of himself to his patients. Even when Dr. Kahn reached retirement age, he lost none of his passion for his patients. Dr. Kahn spent his entire career at the University Hospital in Ann Arbor and always worked for $1 per year.
When I moved to Denver in 1970, Dr. Kahn called to wish me well. He said that if I ever needed help that I should call on his good friend, Dr. K. K. Mammel, a plastic surgeon in Colorado.
I never had occasion to do that, but shortly after arriving in Colorado, I became friends with a banker who had his own magnificent obsession. He was known for being customer friendly and for giving loans to people whom other bankers considered to be bad risks. As a friend, he would always go the extra mile. My friend recently died of metastatic colon cancer, but before he died, the owner of his bank established a $1 million fund for people who would not ordinarily qualify for a mortgage loan. That fund is called the Gary Mammel Memorial Fund. My friend with the magnificent obsession was Dr. Mammel’s son.
This book review column is intended to be about books that deal with the socioeconomics of healthcare. I think this novel fills that criteria. We all have our obsessions as neurosurgeons and we pass them on to our students, our residents and our children. I pray that your obsessions will be magnificent and that Dr. Edgar Kahn’s magnificent obsession will be the mark of neurosurgeons everywhere.
Gary VanderArk, MD, is a member of the AANS Board of Directors, a senior partner of Rocky Mountain Neurosurgical Alliance, Englewood, Colo., and past president of the Colorado Medical Society. He is the recipient of the 2001 AANS Humanitarian Award.