Pulitzer Prize-winning medical journalist Dr. Sheri Fink is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Five Days at Memorial, named one of the ten best books of 2013 by The New York Times. With a M.D. and Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University, Fink brings both expert knowledge and intimate understanding to her work.

In her lectures, Dr. Fink recounts the events at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans during and after hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Drawing audiences into the lives of the doctors and nurses who struggled to save lives amid chaos, she raises the central question of the nation’s preparedness for rare but foreseeable events. Her research and remarks on the tragedies that occurred at Memorial, and the ensuing investigation, raise ethical and legal questions, and throw into sharp relief some of the current issues around health care reform, justice, and liability.

Dr. Sheri Fink recently spoke to educators at the 2014 First-Year-Experience conference. A thoughtful choice for Freshman Experience Programs, Five Days at Memorial transports students into the heart of a disaster scenario and makes them ask themselves: “What would I do? Do exceptional times allow us to make exceptions to moral rules—or does a time of crisis call for an even deeper commitment to our fundamental values?”

Contact us about inviting Dr. Sheri Fink to speak at your event and head to Common Reads to read her message to students.