Entertainment Weekly’s editor at large, Lynette Rice wrote a
book titled “How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy”. The
320-page oral history was published on September 21 and has answered (or added
fuel to several rumours) that surrounded the longest running medical drama,
Grey’s Anatomy.

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Some of the questions that the book answers are:

Why was Brooke Smith fired from her role?

She was a part of the show for 4 seasons and was seen
performing the role of Erica Hahn before her character’s abrupt exit in 2008.

The actress recalled conversing with Patrick Dempsey about
her exit, telling him they are writing her off the show. She had been told to
read a statement on her exit, which she refused to do.

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Why did Katherine Heigl leave the show?

The 42-year-old actress denied that she refused to return to
the show because of witnessing a growth in her movie career.

Instead, she wished to reduce her time on the show in order
to attain a work-life balance.

But that wouldn’t have been possible without negatively impacting
the rest of the cast and crew, which is why she chose to end her run on the
show.

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Why was Patrick Dempsey’s character killed?

The star who portrayed Meredith’s love interest Derek
Shepherd was killed after eleven seasons on the show. Allegedly, Dempsey wasn’t
on the best terms with the HR and had issues with Shonda Rhymes.

McDreamy had to be written off the show but it wouldn’t have
been possible without killing his character. The reason being his incredible
bond with Meredith and their kids. Any other storyline would have been in
violation of his character.

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Did Ellen Pompeo contribute to a toxic culture on set?

Pompeo has been credited for her long tenure on the show for
the portrayal of Meredith Grey.

She had spoken of improving a previously toxic culture but
she might have been one of the contributors to it in earlier days.

Allegedly, the actress was not happy when Jerrika Hinton
took pictures on the set without asking for Ellen’s permission.

It is believed that the incident might have had something to
do with the departure of Hinton’s character at the end of the season.

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The book is a must read for all the fans who have followed the journey of the show throughout its long run of 18 seasons.