Up The Down Escalator, Lisa Doggett
Up The Down Escalator, Lisa Doggett
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Up The Down Escalator
Medicine, Motherhood, and Multiple Sclerosis

Author: Lisa Doggett

Narrator: Lisa Doggett

Unabridged: 9 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/15/2023


Synopsis

A memoir of triumph in the face of a terrifying diagnosis, Up the Down Escalator recounts Dr. Lisa Doggett's startling shift from doctor to patient, as she learns to live with multiple sclerosis while running a clinic for uninsured patients in central Austin.

Facing the prospect of a career-ending disability as she adjusts to life with multiple sclerosis, Dr. Lisa Doggett is forced to deal with a new level of uncertainty and vulnerability, and the everyday fear that something new will go wrong. Taking off her white coat—becoming a patient herself—she confronts unimaginable fears, copes with her limitations, and sidesteps her skepticism of alternative medicine to seek help from unlikely sources.

MS pushes Doggett—a perfectionist at heart—to embrace self-compassion. As a patient, she learns to advocate for herself to ensure on-time medication deliveries and satisfactory treatment plans; to navigate chronic dizziness, relapses, and parenting frustrations; and to push her physical limits as a runner to go farther than ever before.

This hopeful and uplifting book will encourage those living with chronic disease, and those supporting them, to power forward with courage and grace.

About Lisa Doggett

Lisa Doggett, MD, is a family physician, MS Warrior, and cofounder of Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility. She previously directed a safety net clinic in Austin, Texas, where she saw an eclectic mix of patients struggling with their own health challenges in a deeply dysfunctional system. A self-described health nut, Lisa was shocked to become a patient herself when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a bizarre neurologic disease known to be a leading cause of disability in young adults. Since her MS diagnosis in 2009, she has battled frustrating symptoms and insurance companies. She has experienced relapses and has explored alternative treatments. But she has also run two marathons, traveled to five continents, raised two daughters, and embraced her job as a lead physician creating innovative programs for people with chronic disease around the country.

Lisa graduated from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas School of Public Health. She has published in the New York Times, Motherwell, and the Austin American-Statesman. She is a columnist for Public Health Watch and blogs for the National MS Society's Momentum magazine. Lisa has been featured in Parents magazine, Women's World, and on CBS Sunday Morning. As a national thought leader and 2021-22 Vaccine Science Fellow with the American Academy of Family Physicians, she provides webinars, speaks at conferences, and contributes to articles on a variety of health topics, including stories in U.S. News and World Report, Reader's Digest, and Healthline. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Don, a hospital-based pediatrician, and their two daughters, Ella and Clara.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Libby on August 25, 2023

Reading this powerful, well-written book was excruciating for me. Why? Because I am Lisa ‘s mother. As I read the chapters describing the months, and even years, after her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), I said to myself, “Where is Lisa’s mother? Where was I? Why wasn’t I helping her more?” I......more

Goodreads review by Hasan on January 15, 2025

Dr Lisa Doggett’s journey as a physician navigating life as a patient is inspiring especially because of her unwaivering dedication to public health and community throughout......more

Goodreads review by AnnieM on November 29, 2023

I appreciate this book for the author's candor and willingness to see her struggles - being diagnosed at a young age with a chronic illness (MS), working and having two young children. What makes this book particularly compelling is she herself is a physician. Her clinic treats patients who are low......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on June 29, 2023

Up the Down escalator gives the unique insight of Dr. Lisa Doggett who spent her career helping her clinic patients navigate the broken healthcare system as she works through her own diagnosis of MS. Doggett recognizes her own privilege and her frustration dealing with her doctors, insurance compani......more

Goodreads review by Naomi on January 29, 2024

I love this book. It's funny and honest and liberating. Much of it resonated with me, with the struggles we face working demanding jobs and supporting our families while having to deal with and often ignore our own needs. Most of our jobs do not flex or pivot with unexpected hardship, like M.S. Nor......more