Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A local retired emergency room physician has penned a new book featuring stories based on true, shocking events and the realities of the ER world.

Mitch Goldman of Pinckney wrapped up a lengthy career as a full-time ER doc and saw more than 200,000 patients during that time. He recently released his second novel - “Ghastly and Ghoulish Tales from the ER: A Saga In 16 Parts”.

The official description is as follows:

“Take a trip between Heaven and Hell with a small group of docs and nurses as they journey through a big-city ER. There they will dance with Death in a sixteen-part saga, laughing, crying, loving, screaming and talking with God. And by the way - the stories are true, mostly. You'll meet Dean Miller, a veteran with near-terminal burnout; Bob Finkel, a sarcastic doc with hopeless cynicism; Peter Moore, tired of life; Karlita, the Body Snatcher, and Jeff Sanders, King of the Morgue. They and many others will endure outrageous adventures, with a few side visits to...well, 'somewhere else'. This book is your passport into a secretive but very real world. You will witness things you may have imagined, but never really thought could be true. Television and the cinema wouldn't dare touch any of this. Some parts of the book are wildly funny; some, hauntingly sad. Others are very sexy, others bizarre, and others just this side of madness. And they're true, mostly. Welcome to the emergency room. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. You're going to remember this trip.”

Goldman told WHMI he retired after 36 years after “a very fulfilling career filled with amazing people and he was privy to a lot of amazing stories”. He started out in New York, then South Carolina and Georgia, before Michigan in 2004 and has worked in worked in several hospitals in the state. He got his license in 1982 and worked full time up until the pandemic. These days, he does some work in Urgent Care on a part-time basis.

Goldman was also the medical director and co-founder of the Faith Medical Clinic in Pinckney - a venture with his wife Laura, a nurse practitioner with extensive experience in ER and trauma. It saw thousands of uninsured patients in the 2010’s and had countless volunteers. The U of M School of Medicine later took it over, and the clinic remains operational and successful today.

Goldman told WHMI he always wanted to be a writer and initially worked in advertising/PR writing before deciding to become a doctor. He gravitated toward emergency medicine, which Goldman said turned out to be his” true love”.

Ten years ago, Goldman wrote a novel titled “Apocalypse Blue” featuring more than a dozen doctors that he said was received well and a lot of fun but nothing came of it. Two years ago, Goldman says he got “the bug to write again” and used the characters from his first novel because he became so fond of them.

Goldman described his new book as an “insider novel that pulls no punches”. One chapter, “The Train Wreck from Hell”, even gives the reader a warning but notes it can be skipped and won’t affect the overall read. Goldman said it’s “pretty intense, scary, and shocking”; which he did not necessarily do to entertain the reader so much but rather because he had to “pour his guts out” as it was probably the “worst night of his life”.

With so many patients and experiences over the years; Goldman said it was difficult to narrow down the stories but he didn’t want to make the book too long, boring, or intense so these are his 16 favorites and they are all true with a few modifications.

Goldman said life in the ER can quickly descend into controlled chaos and the book gives people a “hell of an interesting read” and shows what the real world in the ER is like – and it is nothing like “what’s seen on tv or in the movies”. Goldman said the book mixes equal parts of wild, comedy, satire, high intensity trauma, religion, fear, and even fantasy – saying “it’s a little R-rated but nothing X-rated and there’s no disgusting blood and guts”. The book also includes a glossary with real-life definitions of medical terms to aid readers.

The book has received favorable reviews from professional reviewers to date, as well as others in the field. Goldman called it “a very enjoyable book that will be unlike anything you’ve ever read”.

The book is available on Amazon and through Barnes and Noble – with copies expected to be on-site at the Green Oak Township and Ann Arbor locations.