The Book Is Done. Now I Need Your Help.
From announcement to manuscript: 76,500 words, 10 chapters, and a call for beta readers.
Ten months ago I wrote that I was writing a book. I figured saying it out loud would make me follow through.
It did.
Last June, I published a post called “I’m Writing a Book: A Call to Clinician Builders.”
I wrote: “I’m writing a book. I figured I should say so out loud so I stick to the plan.”
That sentence felt like a leap. Because it was.
Well, the book is done.
76,500 words. 10 chapters. Part memoir, part career guide, part founder handbook.
And I need your help finishing it right.
What Changed Since Last June
When I wrote that post, I was still early in my journey at General Medicine. Still figuring out what it meant to be a physician-builder in a startup environment. Still learning the difference between optimizing someone else’s system and building your own.
Ten months later, I’ve lived enough of the story to write it.
The book covers the full arc: leaving Kaiser Permanente after fourteen years as a CMIO. Finding my tribe in communities like Scrub Capital. Making the leap to a health tech startup. Building products that physicians actually use. Falling—literally and figuratively. Rebuilding stronger.
But it’s not just my story.
It’s a roadmap for every physician informaticist, CMIO, or clinician who’s ever felt the pull toward something beyond the traditional career trajectory. Who’s wondered: What if I could build instead of just optimize?
And it’s a handbook for health tech founders trying to figure out how to recognize, attract, and work with physician-builders—the ones who bring both clinical insight and technical capability.
Physician informaticists paired with technical co-founders should be the highest-performing team configuration in health tech. Not because we validate clinical assumptions. Because we identify the assumptions you didn’t know you were making. We navigate regulatory terrain, workflow geology, incentive fault lines, and legacy IT constraints that kill even well-capitalized companies.
That’s extraction capability. And it’s what this book is about.
Where I Need Your Help
The manuscript is complete. Before it goes to a professional editor in late April, I need three things from this community.
1. Help me pick the title.
I have 10 options. Some emphasize the physician journey. Some emphasize the competitive advantage physician-builders bring. Some challenge the burnout narrative.
I need to know which one resonates with you.
Vote here (2 minutes): https://form.jotform.com/260945338368064
2. Join the launch waitlist.
The book launches late June/early July 2026. If you want to be notified when it’s available—early excerpts, behind-the-scenes updates, pre-order info—leave your email in the form above.
3. Volunteer as a beta reader. (Limited spots.)
I’m selecting 8-10 people to read 2-3 assigned chapters and give honest feedback over the next 2-3 weeks.
This isn’t proofreading. It’s gut reactions:
Does the content resonate with your experience?
What feels authentic vs. what feels off?
Where did you want more? Where did you get bored?
Any factual errors or mischaracterizations?
Here’s the mix I’m looking for:
3 physician informaticists or CMIOs — does the career arc ring true? Does the CMIO-to-startup transition reflect your lived experience or the experience of people you know?
3 health tech founders — is the founder content actually useful? Does the physician-builder framing match what you’ve seen in the wild?
2 investors, PMs, or healthcare ecosystem folks — does the positioning land for someone outside the clinical tent?
And optionally, 1-2 general physician readers who haven’t made the leap yet — is the narrative clear and compelling to someone still on the fence?
If you fit one of these profiles and want in, indicate your interest in the form. I’ll reach out to selected readers this week.
Why This Book Matters Now
Last June, I wrote: “This book is for every clinician who’s ever asked, ‘What if there’s more?’ and then felt overwhelmed by what came next.”
Still true.
But I understand something now that I didn’t fully grasp ten months ago: the window is open.
AI is lowering the barriers to healthcare innovation. The moat that protected legacy systems for decades is cracking. The tools have finally caught up to the problems.
The physicians who step into the builder role now—while the foundations are still being laid, while the playbooks are still being written—will shape what healthcare becomes.
This book is your permission slip. And your roadmap.
What Happens Next
This week: title votes collected, beta readers selected.
Late April: manuscript to editor.
May-June: cover design, formatting, final polish.
Late June/Early July: launch.
And then? The second book. Full founder mode. Big idea, no safety net.
But first, we finish this one right.
The Promise I Made
Last June, I wrote: “We need more clinician builders. And we need to tell the stories of what it takes to become one.”
This book is that story.
Not a victory lap. Not a how-to manual. Field notes from someone who made the leap and is still figuring it out.
If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s a path beyond the traditional physician career trajectory—this is for you.
Help me finish it: https://form.jotform.com/260945338368064
Thanks for being part of this.
—Adam
P.S. If you missed my June 2025 post about starting this book, you can read it here in the archives: https://rewskidotcom.substack.com/p/im-writing-a-book-a-call-to-clinician. It’s worth seeing how much has changed—and how much the core mission stayed exactly the same.