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Monday, December 4, 2017

Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor by Isaac Alexis, MD (Review, Author Interview and Giveaway!)


Today I'm featuring Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond, a short memoir that is the portrait of a doctor with a mission. I found it interesting and inspirational. Check out my thoughtson the bok, my interview with Dr. Alexis and be sure to scroll down to enter the giveaway an win your own copy!


Book Details:

Book Title: Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond
Author: Isaac Alexis, MD
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 100 pages
Genre: Education and Reference
Publisher: Independent
Release date: October 17, 2017
Tour dates: Dec 4 to 15, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 for mature themes

Book Description:

A prison doctor offers insights into the system's "Correctional Medicine"

Dr. Isaac Alexis' newly-released book Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond tells of his varied experiences as a physician in correctional medical facilities while at the same time urges teenagers to make better decisions to avoid the perils of incarceration.

Dr. Isaac Alexis brings the fast-paced, high-pressure reality of correctional medicine to readers in his new book. He discusses health problems that inmates face during incarceration and offers detailed descriptions of medical complications that plague many people inside and outside of prison. He also speaks directly to young people about avoiding gangs and drug addiction, as well as respecting their bodies in order to preserve their physical and mental health and their freedom. Dr. Alexis's personal experiences growing up in a tough New York neighborhood act as examples of how young people can overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

The desire to help people who do not have access to quality health care drove Dr. Isaac Alexis to focus on correctional medicine. The author also shares how his faith empowers him to advocate for the best medical treatment for the population he works with.

A fascinating and important book, Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond is a book that should be read by anyone dealing with teenagers and young adults whether in the home, public or educational facilities.


My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

In Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond, Dr. Isaac Alexis begins his memoir by giving us a brief overview of his early life as an inner city NY kid and his family background. We are introduced to a man who benefited from a strict upbuilding and who worked hard to become a doctor. The writing is similar to a stream of consciousness narrative mode and there are no dates to orient the reader as to what time in his life or history the author refers to, except that he grew up as a teen in the 80s.

Dr. Alexis then moves on to describe his days as a physician in correctional medicine and his experience when taking care of patients in prison. It's clear this is a man who cares about people. Dr. Alexis is a positive person with a Christian outlook and he applies the principle of the Golden Rule of treating others the way you want to be treated. He clearly is an advocate for providing equal medical treatment for his patients in prison, sometimes going against the superior doctor's orders (of minimal treatment) when he felt a patient's life was at stake. Dr. Alexis took his doctor's oath seriously and saved the lives of prisoners who would have otherwise died if not for his care.

Throughout the narrative, whenever Dr. Alexis mentioned a medical condition, he would explain the condition in detail. Sometimes the details were long and contained medical terms a layperson might not understand. Humor is also infused throughout and I could see Dr. Alexis has a big personality, a forceful positive bigger-than-life kind of character that I liked immediately. I can see how this kind of personality would be needed in his difficult line of work.

As a parent of teenagers, the chapter on drug addiction was the most interesting. It reinforced everything I have read and believe about how aware a parent needs to be in the lives of their teens. Dr. Alexis brings out his experience as a parent, reaching out to other parents to be involved in their children's lives.

Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond is a short book of 95 pages that can be read in a few hours. It's the portrait of a doctor with a mission. It's more of a memoir than a resource book, however, with some advice for parents on being vigilant and involved in their children's lives.

To read more reviews, please visit Dr. Isaac Alexis' page on iRead Book Tours.


Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not told how to rate or review this book. All opinions are my own.

Buy the Book:





Interview with Dr. Alexis:

LCR: Welcome to Library of Clean Reads! Can you describe your book in 20 words or less?

IA: My book deals with the medical complications that can affect many people both inside and out of prison and also counsels our young people against STD,Drugs and gangs.

LCR: What do you hope your memoir/reference book will do for your readers?

IA: I would hope my book would encourage young people to make positive choices avoiding STD’s, gangs, and drugs.

LCR: I admire people who set out to write a self-help book and so intimately share their lives with the world. What was the hardest thing about writing this book? The easiest?

IA: The hardest thing about writing my book was revealing my cousin who died of a drug overdose but I did it to show that all our choices in life have a consequence. The easiest thing about writing this book is knowing that as a Physician how can I possibly be silent when people can benefit from leading healthy lives.

LCR: What is the funniest (or strangest, or scariest) incident that has ever happened to you?

IA: The funniest thing that happened to me was when my daughter was 6 months old she would crawl on the floor like up at me with those adorable little baby eyes and then when I was not looking she would proceed to bite my leg with all her might making me jump as high as Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls.

LCR: Can you share with us some of the people you admire the most?

IA: People I admire most one of whom is a deity is 1) Jesus 2) Mother-legendary work ethic 3)Wife 4) Children 5) Dr. Benjamin Carson 6) Dr. Keith Black 7) Dr. Alexa Canady 8) Dr. Leonidis Berry.

LCR: Now a fun question: If you could travel back in time, where would you go? Who would you see?

IA:  I would travel back in time to see Kings Solomon’s temple.

LCR: Any future projects you would like to share with us? 

IA: There is another book that I’m in process of writing.


Meet the Author:



Isaac Alexis, MD, completed an internship in trauma surgery at Cornell University at New York Hospital of Queens, and he cross-trained in family medicine and anesthesiology. Dr. Alexis served as medical director at the Department of Justice as well as director of infection control and chair of the quality improvement medical committee. He has several years of correctional medicine under his belt.

Dr. Alexis's book Life and Death behind the Brick and Razor-Code Red Diamond relays his experiences as a physician in correctional medical facilities while also challenging teenagers to make better decisions to avoid the perils of incarceration.

Connect with the author: Website

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Ends Dec 23


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7 comments :

  1. A fascinating and captivating story which I would enjoy greatly. A Brilliant doctor whose dedication is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looking forward to reading this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds interesting would love to read

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  4. The book sounds interesting, but I'm sure it is also very emotional...

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting! I appreciate your feedback.

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