In the fall of 1985, a young, somewhat insecure, surgical resident, trans-planted from England via medical school at McGill University in Montreal, began his second year of his surgery training. He had chosen to cut his teeth in a fast-paced, bloody war zone: Detroit Receiving Hospital's emergency trauma center. Now a busy general, vascular and minimally invasive surgeon in a progressive Midwest community hospital, Life in the Pits is a recollection of some of his experiences during his emergency trauma surgery rotation at the time. As well as describing the strange and sometimes just frightening scenarios that played out, he exposes the emotional roller-coaster that was a daily part of the intense, exhausting, and frequently intimidating training.

"We must be confident, yet not cocky; efficient, yet not too fast; organized, but never rigid. Cockiness kills. Yet on the flip side, we cannot be paralyzed by fear and insecurity."