The Illusion of the Perfect Profession by Betsy Gall
Betsy Gall’s story of love, physician suicide, and finding comfort and purpose in the aftermath
Betsy Gall was living the American dream. Married to an oncologist with three healthy children; life was pretty darn good. That all changed on Thanksgiving Day of 2019 when her “life of the party” physician husband took his own life. Matthew Taylor Gall, M.D., M.S., who had devoted his entire life to saving lives, was dead at the young age of 49. The Illusion of the Perfect Profession is a culmination of Betsy’s journals, letters to God, and her journey with faith throughout this horrific traumatic experience that left her family shattered and asking how could this happen.
Through reading and research, Betsy discovered that physician suicide is a trend. One million patients lose their doctors to suicide every single year. This is a subject matter that, unfortunately, needs to be widely discussed to help change a system that is undoubtedly broken.
The Illusion of the Perfect Profession: Betsy Gall: 9781952976933: Amazon.com: Books
Betsy Gall | Kirk House Publisher (kirkhousepublishers.com)
Betsy Gall’s heartfelt book about the suicide of her physician husband and its aftermath offers thoughtful insights, first-hand observations, and personal advice, all written with love and understanding. Her book will be of immense help to survivors of suicide loss as well as the medical community. ~Carla Fine, author of No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One
Betsy Gall pulls no punches in this riveting, frank, and heartbreaking book. Her 49-year-old husband Matthew, a dedicated oncologist, soulmate, father, and lover of life, died by suicide on Thanksgiving Day 2019. He died of untreated depression, ironically and tragically, not uncommon in ailing physicians. Ms. Gall’s book is one family’s journey through unspeakable loss and anguish, buttressed with courage, love, unwavering faith, determination, and hope. “The Illusion of the Perfect Profession” is also a clarion call to the world of medicine that all physicians with psychiatric illnesses have a right to life-saving care without having to worry about their privacy and dignity or losing their job, or assaults to their medical license. Her book honors her husband. It is a gift and warrants a wide readership. ~Michael F Myers, MD Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, and author of “Why Physicians Die by Suicide: Lessons Learned from Their Families and Others Who Cared.”
This book is one wife’s story about love, physician suicide, and finding comfort and purpose in the aftermath. Suicide has reached the point where, like knowing someone with cancer, we all know someone who has committed suicide. Anyone and everyone is at risk, and that includes people in the medical profession. The saying, ‘doctor heal thyself,’ is easier said than done, and tragically every year, doctors die by suicide at a rate higher than that of the general population. It happened to my family in 2017 when we lost my ex-husband, who was also a cardiothoracic surgeon. It was years later when I met Betsy, and we soon learned how much we had in common. Her drive to help others going through the same experience and to offer hope and healing, courage, and community to others who have lost a loved one to suicide is inspiring. One thing is clear, optics are deceiving, even for doctors. ~Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent and author of Life After Suicide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Betsy Gall and her three children, Grady, Gavin, Sophie, and their dog Liberty, split their time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she focuses on faith, family, and friends. In addition, Betsy is an active real estate agent, investor, landlord, and habitual remodeler. Betsy is speaking all over the country about physician suicide after her oncologist husband, Dr. Matthew Gall, tragically and unexpectedly took his own life on Thanksgiving Day in 2019. Betsy loves to ski downhill in her spare time, spend time at her lake home, and exercise. In addition, she continues to give back to Angel Foundation and the Dr. Lorna Breen Foundation.
