What better way to meet our goal of reading more this year than to involve our friends and Hometown Family? Each month of 2023 we will be unveiling a new “Book of the Month” that will be on display in the office. After its month, each book will become part of our small office library that patients and visitors alike can enjoy. Join us in making 2023 the year of reading!

Each book of the month has been purposefully selected, not from the NY Times best sellers list or Google’s top books of 2023, but instead from a list with a personal Hometown Family twist. Every book is the favorite read of someone who has inspired, taught, and shaped us here at Hometown Family Health. Along with the book each month, we will highlight the individual who has played a vital role in influencing who we are. Without further ado, the first Hometown Family Book of the Month is…

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

The most memorable events in life are often those that we experience as children. Learning to ride a bike, our first plane ride, the smells of grandma’s house, and the books our parents read to us. This month’s book is one of those.

The Very Quiet Cricket is the story of a young cricket’s search to find his voice. Along the way they meet many other insects and enjoy their distinctive noises, each time attempting to make their own sound without success. It isn’t until they meet another cricket that they are able to discover their own unique, beautiful sound.

I see my dear friend Brett Larsen in this, his favorite children's book.

We first met Brett and his wife Kylee when we were students at Brigham Young University. They lived in the same apartment building as Allison and me. Our assigned covered parking spots sat next to each other, separated only by a poorly placed pole, and situated in the very corner of that tiny lot which made for a very acute angle for which to get in and out of. That pole and I came in contact more than I would like to admit and I often thought that Brett took some liberties in his car’s resting place leaving very little room for me to exit. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered he held the same disdain I did both for that wretchedly placed pole and my own parking skills.

Unknowingly to both of us, Brett and I ended up together at medical school. Walking into that large, crowded auditorium like a nervous middle schooler on day one I sat down to the one familiar face in the crowd. Little do you know how important that first seating decision is as it decides your fate and most importantly your friends– those who you struggle with, study for hours on end with, and support throughout the grueling rat-race they call medical school. Brett became one of those people for me.

After medical school we went our separate ways, with Allison and I returning to Colorado and Brett and Kylee heading to Texas for our respective residencies. I completed my family medicine training while Brett completed his training in anesthesiology. He returned home to Utah this past year to start his first post-residency job at the University of Utah.

Those residency years are the toughest of this medical journey, filled with long, unforgiving hours. Training during the COVID pandemic meant even more stresses and difficulties. I still wonder sometimes how I was able to get through those years. Brett though, his story, is truly remarkable.

What I haven’t yet mentioned is that Brett was diagnosed during our final years of medical school with stage IV colon cancer, a devastating diagnosis. We talked as doctors in training about the diagnosis, the prognosis, and the treatment. We talked as friends about the unknown, the fears, and the decisions that lay ahead.

Since that day I have often wondered what I would have done if faced with that same situation. Would I have finished school and pursued residency knowing the slim chances of working long thereafter? Would I have thrown in the towel and pursued a less grueling lifestyle?

Brett decided to pursue the former, and through surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy he did what he had set out to do from the start. He did so quietly, never drawing attention to himself nor to his situation. Along the way, however, he impacted the lives of those who not only worked with him but also those patients who were treated by him.

I see Brett in The Very Quiet Cricket, not as the main character, but as the second who helps the first to find his voice. He helped me to find my voice and place in medical school. He helped countless others to find their voices through his selfless service. Sadly, Brett passed away with his family by his side just before the holidays. While his voice is temporarily silenced it can be heard loud and clear in the voices of those of us who he selflessly served, supported, and loved. 

If you want to learn more about Brett, Kylee, and their journey you can do so here.

Let us know your thoughts on this first installment of the “Book of the Month” and stay tuned for each month’s reveal.

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