The Winding Road Led Me Straight Here

Dr. William A. Neal, author of the memoir The Winding Road Led Me Straight Here, did indeed travel quite a few paths during his busy life-childhood in the booming city of Huntington, West Virginia, service as a US Navy flight surgeon in the Pacific, training in Minnesota with the vanguard of neonatal medical care, treks across many of the twisting mountain roads of West Virginia, and international travel for pleasure with family. Dr. Neal recognized the importance of observing and recording his own times, to preserve his experiences for those who follow. As a clinician, educator, administrator, author, researcher, and dreamer, Dr. Neal experienced the dizzying medical advances of the six decades from 1960 to 2020, especially in the place he called home. His professional development was intricately tied with the growth of the West Virginia School of Medicine, from his start in one of the early classes to graduate from the four-year medical school, all the way until after his retirement when he established the William A. Neal Museum of the Health Sciences and helped found the new Children's Hospital. The Winding Road Led Me Straight Here will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of medical practice or education, especially in the Mountain State.