Living and Dying in Brick City

Dr. Sampson Davis’s medically-themed memoir, Living and Dying in Brick City: Stories from the Front Lines of an Inner-City E.R. (2013), is an account of the healthcare crisis affecting deprived or overcrowded inner-city communities. Dr. Davis grew up in the neighborhood discussed in the book, and critics praise the book for its resulting authenticity and honesty. Dr. Davis made a pact with his childhood friends to become doctors, and all three of them fulfilled that dream. His brother is confined to a wheelchair and his sister died of AIDS; these tragedies fuelled his ambition.

Dr. Davis offers a unique perspective in medical nonfiction. He works as an emergency room doctor in the same community he grew up in, and he feels at home there. His patients are not only patients to him—rather, they are also neighbors, friends, family, and the people with whom he once shared the same difficulties. He understands their unique situations, and his empathy ensures that he treats everyone with the utmost respect and dignity.

Dr. Davis grew up in inner-city Newark, where he and two like-minded friends wanted to study medicine. They wanted to give back to their underprivileged community—a goal they all eventually achieved. Although Dr. Davis wrote Living and Dying in Brick City alone, his earlier book, The Pact, is narrated by all three friends. We learn more about them from Dr. Davis’s perspective in Living and Dying in Brick City.



Dr. Davis recalls working an E.R. shift, hearing a familiar name, “Don Moses.” Dead from a gunshot wound, Don’s death affects Dr. Davis. He knows Don’s story, and how he ended up on the streets; he wishes that it did not turn out this way for so many familiar faces. He recalls seeing Don trying out guns in the projects many years ago, and how he always looked up to the man he nicknamed “Snake.” This is just one example of how many familiar men and women pass through the hospital doors in similar circumstances.

Dr. Davis shows how the healthcare crisis in inner-cities is inextricably linked to the wider issues affecting these communities. The culture of drugs, gun violence, crime, and poverty is a vicious cycle from which many can never escape. Through the stories he shares, Dr. Davis raises our awareness of the preventable tragedies affecting so many of our communities.

Dr. Davis believes that his own upbringing is responsible for the compassion he has towards patients. He understands that treating them in a hospital or medical center is only the tip of the iceberg—their real problems go far deeper; it is only a matter of time before they will show up at the hospital again.



Too many kids in Newark are growing up without hope, because they see what is happening to their elders, and they do not see brighter opportunities for themselves. Dr. Davis hopes to challenge this hopelessness with his own story. He encourages young people to believe in themselves and to believe that there is a better life out there for them. He is not just a doctor to the community—he is an informal mentor.

Much of Dr. Davis’s work happens outside of the hospital. He offers compassion to those living with terminal illnesses, such as AIDS, and practical advice for treating the symptoms of asthma, heart disease, alcoholism, and obesity. He’s patient and supportive of those struggling with addictions, because he knows how badly his sister struggled with her own addictions before she died.

Living and Dying in Brick City also covers an issue we often forget—older African-Americans are often reluctant to seek medical help, because they do not trust doctors. Doctors like Dr. Davis are working every day to challenge this problem, showing the community there is nothing to fear. He admits that this is no easy task.



He also admits that, while there are plenty of genuine patients at the hospital, there are many who take advantage of the system. This saddens him because it drains resources best directed elsewhere, but he also understands why these people see visiting the E.R. as their only option. Although some patients frustrate him, he does his best to understand and educate them.

Dr. Davis is a firm supporter of mentorship and reaching out to the community. He has a stake in helping young people achieve their dreams and in keeping his community as healthy as he can with the resources available. He knows that, in many ways, he is only treating a symptom of a more serious disease—the conditions affecting inner-city residents—but he knows how valuable and appreciated his work is.

There is no simple solution to the problems affecting these communities, just as there is no simple answer to treating conditions such as obesity. However, Dr. Davis encourages communities to come together to engage in meaningful conversations about these problems; he hopes that the advice he offers will educate a future generation for the better.