The scalpel and the silver bear cover

The scalpel and the silver bear

by Lori Arviso Alvord

The author, the first Navajo woman surgeon, tells the story of how she was able to cut across cultural, class, and educational borders to become a part of the medical world; and discusses how she came to understand the power of Navajo thinking about health and illness to impact some of modern medicine's most daunting problems.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?