Tooth and Nail: The Making of a Female Fight Doctor

A fearless and exhilarating memoir chronicling the coming of age of a surgeon in New York City and her experiences as one of the only female ringside boxing doctors for the New York State Athletic Commission.Fresh out of medical school, Linda Dahl was nervous to begin her ENT residency in the Bronx. Compounding the long hours and overwhelming workload, Dahl felt like a fish out of water. As a Midwesterner she was an outsider in her new community. And among her fellow specialists, she was the only woman.One night, at her husband's urging, Dahl watched a boxing match between Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya. Watching Moseley survive against the odds gave Dahl hope that she too could find her footing. As her fandom grew, boxing became a way to connect with her patients. Then, by happenstance, Dahl received a phone call from the New York Athletic Commission. They were looking for a fight doctor. Dahl accepted.Fight Doctor chronicles the three and a half years Dahl spent as an ear, nose, and throat surgeon by day and a ringside physician by night. Intrepid, adrenaline-fueled, and loaded with behind-the-scenes takes on famous boxers, including Mike Tyson, Dahl's story offers a modern examination of sexism, dislocation, and the theater of boxing, as well as a roadmap for how to excel in two very different male-dominated worlds.