GIFTED HANDS

Ben Carson (1990). Gifted hands: The Ben Carson story.

Autobiography of Ben Carson's life from the time of his early childhood memories to his rise to fame as a brain neurosurgeon with a wife and small children. 

His mother and older brother's influences in his early years are profound. Many of his mother's sayings came through at critical times like: "You just ask the Lord, and He'll help you", "You can do it", and "What did you learn in school today?" After he received glasses and began to read, the library opened the doors of the world to him...his mother had both boys read a book a week and deliver an oral report to her at the end of each week.  His older brother was a model for him that turned his life around when he was led astray by peer pressure in his teens. He joined his brother in the high school Army ROTC and advanced to the highest rank in a short time which led to scholarship opportunities at Yale, and through amazing circumstances, led to his career in medicine and meeting his future wife Candy, and his eventual career as a neurosurgeon. 

One pattern i noticed throughout the book is that Ben would observe someone succeed in life (reach a particular goal that he was interested in achieving) and he would tell himself, "If they can do it, I can do it." Then he would apply himself to go beyond what that person accomplished. 

His faith in God as a 7th Day Adventist also comes through in sometimes miraculous ways at critical points in his life: in studying for a chemistry test that would make or break his career as a doctor at Yale (he prayed and dreamed the answers, and the next day, those answers were the ones on the test), his life and Candy's almost ended in a near car collision with a truck on the highway, but they spun in circles and were spared, and in many surgeries with cases that others gave up on, he prayed and the patients recovered after surgery.

There are many take aways from the story of Ben Carson's life: a healthy and positive believe in yourself...asking for God's help when you need it...look to others that have already achieved what you want for inspiration...and respectful, caring service to others.