Paper Dollhouse

Book excerpt: In Paper Dollhouse, Dr. Lisa Masterson traces a journey that begins with an unconventional childhood shaped by her larger-than-life mother, who broke away from an abusive husband in Louisiana to find new opportunities for the two of them in the West. With charm, determination, and a budget that often involves moving every few months to skip out on the rent, plus a lot of other creative financing, the two of them lead a hidden existence that allows Lisa to attend exclusive private schools and feed a brilliant mind. Their life together is as heartbreakingly flimsy as the dollhouse she makes for a school project, using the only materials she has: notebook paper and tape. But the love and grit and resilience of those early days ground Lisa for harrowing years of medical training in an Ob/Gyn ward known as The Pit, and give her the fierce determination, after she loses her mother to cancer, to found clinics for pregnant women and babies in Africa and India. This unexpected story from the accomplished doctor and cohost of the Emmy Award–winning medical talk show The Doctors will captivate, surprise, and inspire readers and her many daytime TV fans.