Title: Steep: A Black Neurosurgeon's Journey
Author: Craig Yorke
Publisher: Flint Hills Publishing
Pub Date: April 23, 2025
Page Count: 176
ISBN, Format, Price: 9781953583987, PB, $16.99
About the Book:
Steep traces an odyssey from a gritty Boston neighborhood to a neurosurgical practice in Middle America. It’s more about the price of success than the weight of bigotry – a story of resilience and self-discovery that will resonate with anyone who has wrestled with their past as they chased the American Dream.
The word “steep” has two meanings: the adjective that conjures a precipitous climb—or descent, but also the verb that connotes a ripening or maturing over time. Both definitions are evident in Yorke’s story, one that will resonate with anyone who’s run from their past, anyone whose world feels too small.
About the Author:
Dr. Craig Yorke was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He received a BA from Harvard College in 1970 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1974. His parental directive insisted he avenge centuries of bigotry with a life of infinite success.
After a neurosurgical residency at the University of California at San Francisco, he and his wife Mary found their way to an unlikely destination. He practiced in Topeka, Kansas, for 25 years, wrestling with his history and the armored identity it had imposed. He and Mary raised two admirable boys, Zack who lives in Brooklyn and Chris who calls Seattle home.
Dr. Yorke brews coffee for two each morning in the colonial home they’ve occupied for 33 years. He’s a credible violinist, having played the Bruch G Minor concerto with the Boston Pops at 17, and hits tennis balls with passion. Steep is his first book.
Review copies are available. Thank you for considering Steep for an AALBC review. If you need more information from me, please let me know.
