Living Medicine
Memoir
by
Book Details
About the Book
Oct 22, 2004 Web Release
Living Medicine
Memoir of a Young Chinese Immigrant
who became a Doctor at the Mayo Clinic
An inspiring adventure which quickly moves between China, Cuba, Ireland, and the U.S., with three main themes.
1. The American dream works.
2. Seek first rate medical attention, like at the Mayo Clinic.
3. Strive for a happy, productive, meaningful retirement.
A Mayo colleague said, “It reads like a Pearl Buck novel.”
At seventeen in 1941, Victoria L. Beckett fled war-torn China by boat to America, without parents or a support
network—just $50 and a trunk of clothes. Still, she went on to college at Mt. Holyoke, to medical school at
University of Michigan, and to residency training at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. Along the way as a practicing
doctor, she encountered gun shot victims at 2 a.m., a car bomb outside Trinity College, rich and poor patients in
Detroit and Dublin, Ireland, and patients set to sue every doctor they saw. Through every experience, she never saw
herself as Chinese or a woman, but simply as striving to be the best physician she could be. Now in retirement, she
has kept mentally alert by earning a Masters degree in psychology, and physically fit by teaching Tai-chi. This book
is her story, from her childhood in China, and her seventeen years at the Mayo Clinic (working with some of the best
doctors in the world) to her active retirement. She and husband, Joseph Sharp, live in Rochester, a small Minnesota
city. “Doctors without Borders” will receive book proceeds.
Written for the general reader in every-day English, this book will especially appeal to:
• Everyone interested in health and good medical care
• Young people considering a medical career
• Women and Immigrants
• Seniors and Retirees.
Living Medicine by V.L. Beckett MD
Memoir Snapshots
Trade paperback: $20.99 ($17.84 from Xlibris); ISBN: 1-4134-6325-8 192 pages
Cloth hardback: $30.99; ($27.89 from Xlibris); ISBN: 1-4134-6326-6 192 pages
To purchase copies of book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (215) 923-4685.
Xlibris is a strategic partner of Random House Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Random House, Inc.
May be purchased in any major bookstore, online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or 0 Borders or directly from Xlibris (888)795-
4274
For more informaiton, you may email the author at sharpjoe@charter.net.
About the Author
Victoria L Beckett was born in China, came to America with her sister in 1941, gained her BA from Massachusetts Mt. Holyoke College, and MD from University of Michigan. She trained to become an Internal Medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. After twenty years in Detroit and Ireland, she returned to Mayo as staff physician in Rheumatology, retiring in 1990. She and computer scientist husband Joseph Sharp, live in active retirement in Rochester. Her book tells of her diverse life experiences, her love for America and her passion for medicine. Book proceeds to “Doctors Without Borders.”