“I believe in black holes. I believe that as the universe empties into nothingness, past and future will smack together in the last swirl around the drain. I believe this is how Thomas Stone materialized in my life. If that's not the explanation, then I must invoke a disinterested God who leaves us to our own devices, neither causing nor preventing tornadoes or pestilence, but a God who will now and then stick his thumb on the spinning wheel so that a father who put a continent between himself and his sons should find himself in the same room as one of them.”

American physician and author

Abraham Verghese is an American physician and author. He is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor of Medicine at Stanford Medical School, where he also serves as Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine and Internal Medicine Clerkship Director. He is the author of four best-selling books, including two memoirs and two novels. He also co-hosts the Medscape podcast Medicine and the Machine with Eric Topol, reflecting his ongoing interest in medicine, teaching, and the place of technology in clinical care.