The Surgeon

The novel’s protagonist, Dr. Anne Wiley, is a dynamic and round character whose professional and personal identities collide under the weight of past trauma. Anne is a revered cardiothoracic surgeon, and her sense of self is inextricably linked to her impeccable professional record and the clinical detachment she maintains. Her colleagues respect her, and her team operates with a relaxed efficiency that she believes keeps “death at bay” (7). Symbolizing this carefully constructed world is the surgical drape, which physically separates her clinical focus on the heart from the patient’s personal identity. For 12 years, she has never lost a patient, a fact that isn’t just a statistic but a core component of her being. This professional excellence provides a fragile shield against the unresolved grief from the abuse and death by suicide of her younger sister, Melanie, a trauma so devastating that Anne can’t bring herself to enter Melanie’s old bedroom.

The arrival of Caleb Donaghy on her operating table shatters this shield. The sight of the distinctive birthmark on his forehead, a mark she recognizes from her past, forces a confrontation with the trauma she has long suppressed.