In 2005, I was arrested by agents from both the US Postal Service and the Food and Drug Administration for the importation of illegal human growth hormone and botulinum toxin (Botox) from China. At the time of my arrest, I was a thirty-seven year old Harvard graduate with medical and post-doctoral degrees. I attended one of the finest residency and fellowship training programs in the world at the … world at the University of California, San Francisco. I played two sports in college, earned awards at every level of education and training, had wonderful friends and a beautiful three-year-old daughter. Having grown up the son of a restaurant manager and a housewife, I had transcended the humble beginnings of a small Midwestern town to become the quintessential American Dream.
Or so I thought.
But with my arrest on felony importation charges, everything I had worked so hard for was swept away and the entire trajectory of my life was indelibly altered. I would embark on a three year battle not only for my medical license, but also for my freedom. This journey would lead to intense personal introspection, and in that process, I would discover with ugliness, there was also beauty, and with punishment, mercy.
There are many reasons I have written this manuscript, with one of the most important being that I hoped my story would resonate with others who have gone through difficult circumstances as a consequence of a dark side of their personality. With this book, I hope to inspire others to accept and embrace the good and bad, while continually striving for improved self-understanding and acceptance.
I have changed names primarily for legal purposes, but the facts are unchanged. Although the events described in the book occurred more than ten years ago, I think about them nearly every day. The shame and humiliation are ever-present. Any simple Google search of my name reveals the truth, and that truth has affected me over and over, despite the years, as it probably should. As the judge told me that day in a federal courtroom, “You have betrayed the public’s trust.”
This is my confessional.
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A fascinating book with a realistic look at how our justice system works — or doesn’t for those who do not have this physician-writer’s resources. My physican husband was appalled by the writer’s misrepresentations to patients regarding medications being dispensed. But we both found the book engrossing.
Max Kepler is an arrogant, self pitying, privileged, whiny, and at times pathetic man in this true tale of physician who let his arrogance and privilege get in the way of his common sense. That said, I found the tale an interesting one, though the amount of detail contained at times borders on the obsessive.
I want to like this book, but to be honest I can’t muster more than a luke warm feel for it. It’s a fascinating story, but Max is not, IMHO, a likeable guy. The arrogance he starts with is tempered somewhat as the story progresses, though he never really seems to get that what he did was wrong and it was only because he got caught that he didn’t truly hurt anyone. The potential was there for catastrophe though, and he manages to get off with no more than a proverbial slap in the wrist because [1] he could afford the best attorneys; and [2] his privilege and lifelong arrogance mean that nobody ever pulled him aside and gave him a true slap in the face.
He’s a fighter though, and for that I give him credit. But I don’t like the character of Max Kepler. If the author meant to make him unlikable , he succeeded admirably.
The book is well written, though wordy. If it lost a few thousand words, it would be all the better. Hence the three stars.
This is a true story of a doctor that sold drugs and lost everything. Detailed.
This is a page turner mainly because the reader wants to see just how entitled this guy really is. Everyone in his life rushes to help him in any way they can, and it’s amazing to watch how he finds a way to blame them for not helping enough.
It was an ok book. Did keep me engaged and wanting to know what happened next. I just didn’t feel like it was a true story, too many things didn’t sit right.
I have no idea if this is really written by the doctor or not (as a nurse I found some of the medical issues questionable). I was deeply disturbed by his ability to manipulate the legal system, using his child and “contribution to society” to not only avoid prison but retain his medical license. This book highlights some basic concerns: patient’s safety vs doctor’s income, legal accountability of malpractice, and the cost and safety of American vs imported drugs. I finished this book 3 weeks ago and there is hardly a day since that I haven’t reflected on it. I am still angry with the doctor, the legal system, and the medical board.., we should all be.
This is a biographical book about a self-made and successful physician/scientist who ultimately sows the seeds of his own destruction. He rarely takes full responsibility for his own actions and poor judgment, and so winds up being a very unsympathetic character. Instead of empathizing with him I found myself hoping he would get a punishment that he managed to avoid. And for some reason he managed to maintain the support of friends and colleagues who should have tried to distance themselves from his self-serving behavior.
Enjoyed the read despite the many many typos!
Interesting account on how easy it is to go awry sometimes without even thinking about it. It happens one little step at a time.
Easy read, held my attention, honest and I couldn’t put it down!