This is the creative retelling of Dr. Ross Pennie's true adventures as a medical volunteer on a remote South Pacific island. At 25, Pennie is fresh out of medical school when he heads for Papua New Guinea. As Pennie recalls: "It was an uneventful stay, except... I faced amputating a young woman's leg with a hacksaw; I performed my first-ever appendectomy during an earthquake, the hospital was turned into a temporary tavern to treat alcohol-poisoning victims... I developed milk formula that saved the lives of scores of malnourished children; I grappled with culture shock and indifference to my efforts; and I encountered a life-altering crisis of confidence that left me questioning why I'd ever gone to Papua New Guinea in the first place". "The Unforgiving Tides" is a testament to the strength of the human spirit -- and the limits of modern medicine.