Ward 402 A Novel

From the author of 365 Days comes a poignant, personally inspired tale of a rookie doctor fighting for the life of a desperately ill young girl—a story that grows ever more relevant in this world of increasingly sophisticated and technical medical care
In this riveting and passionately rendered novel, an intern faces the harsh realities of his profession, and the overwhelming highs and lows for which medical school was unable to prepare him. The call comes at three in the morning, ordering the intern to handle a new admission at the pediatric ward of the university hospital. He finds eleven-year-old Mary Berquam, diagnosed with advanced leukemia. The doctors think they might be able to give her drug therapies and put her in remission, but her parents know Mary’s disease is fatal and they want to keep her comfortable rather than put her through painful treatments. The young intern must confront what it means to follow the conventions of his job versus the calling of his conscience.

Ronald J. Glasser, MD, was the bestselling and National Book Award–nominated author of 365 Days, an account of his experiences as an army doctor during the Vietnam War. Dr. Glasser wrote several investigations of trauma in modern warfare, including Broken Bodies, Shattered Minds, and Wounded: Vietnam/Iraq, as well as the general medical studies The Light in the Skull and The Body Is the Hero. He also penned the novels Another War, Another Peace and Ward 402. Glasser passed away in 2022 at the age of 83.