Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

47 reviews

rebecca713's review against another edition

3.0

if you want to be dissuaded from a career in medicine, this book is for you

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical content, Death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Terminal illness

izzyvioletgrace's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

This book is a detailed insight into the life of a doctor. Informative and funny, yet shows the inhumane pressure doctors are put under. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Abortion, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Terminal illness

Minor: Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

emilo's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Blood

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Fatphobia, and Racism

mxss_winterfell's review against another edition

emotional funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

An important book that manages to highlight the situation the NHS are in (which has only grown worse since publication) and talk about the real struggles and challenges of being a junior doctor in a funny yet informative way. With witty remarks and pithy comments throughout, Adam Kay's writing makes it easy to read through such a serious book in one sitting.

To anyone who uses, has used, or knows of the NHS service, I would recommend reading this book.

P.S. Grab a little thank you card or gift for your care team after your next hospital stay; goodness knows the government won't thank them

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Blood, Medical content, and Infertility

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Racism, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

anastasiak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, and Death

smupple's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Pregnancy, Drug use, Excrement, Infertility, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Grief and Cancer

Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

bookbird's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

Jan 2023: This must be my third or fourth reread of this incredibly special book. Kay is a master storyteller, and it's his finely balanced combination of light and dark that make this book so impactful. A must-read for anyone who has ever had even the briefest experience of the NHS.

Jan 2024: I don't think I'll ever be able to properly express how highly I recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide, Addiction, Miscarriage, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child death, Pregnancy, Abortion, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, and Vomit

rosalie362819's review against another edition

challenging funny informative sad fast-paced

3.0

Favourite quotes:
“It now seemed extreme and unreasonable in terms of what was expected of me, but at the time, I’d just accepted it as part of the job. The extra mile was the normal distance.”

“The depth of the lows is the price you pay for the height of the highs.”

“She bursts into tears, and out come all the will nevers, the crushing realization that forever is just a word on the front of Valentine’s cards.”

“The other thing I realize is that none of her many, many concerns are about herself; it’s all about the kids, her husband, her sister, her friends. Maybe that’s the definition of a good person.”

“He must realize we have the same chat every time, but it clearly doesn’t matter—he just wants to know there’s someone out there who cares. And actually, that’s a very large part of what being a doctor is.”

“I dress him again, look up to a God I don’t believe in, and say, ‘Look after him.’”

“You don’t cure depression, the same way you don’t cure asthma; you manage it. I’m the inhaler he’s decided to go with and I should be pleased he’s gone this long without an attack.”

“Medicine is the host who manages to keep you at the party hours after you first think about leaving.”

“It’s funny—you don’t think of doctors getting ill.”

“Think about the toll the job takes on every medical professional, at home and at work. Remember that all of them do an absolutely impossible job to the very best of their abilities. Your time in the hospital may well hurt them a lot more than it hurts you.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Abortion

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging funny informative fast-paced

5.0

QUOTE

"So I told them the truth: the hours are terrible, the pay is terrible, the conditions are terrible; you’re underappreciated, unsupported, disrespected and frequently physically endangered. But there’s no better job in the world."

WHAT I ENJOYED

• the bigger message: no health care provider does what they do for money, they do it to help other people and for passion
• incredibly funny and witty
• very honest and raw, maybe a consequence of the descriptive and factual tone: the author does not try to paint himself or anyone else in a good or bad light
• great insights into the life of a medical care taker (doctor): 
  • the lack of working conditions
  • their struggles with balancing work with personal life
  • the pressure and the emotional weight they’re under
  • the feeling of unreadiness and how they grow as doctors with time
  • working in public vs private healthcare
• the side notes explaining the more medical/technical terms really help guide us common people
• the author narration in the audiobook is exceptional

WHAT I DIDN'T ENJOY

• if you’re not from the UK or are not familiarized with its health and education systems, there might be a couple of things that you don’t grasp as well. it's not something that affects your reading experience much and tbh a google search can probably solve it... 

RECOMMENDED TO

• everyone!
• i feel like it’s an essential read to better understand and appreciate the work of health care providers
• i imagine it might be especially interesting for other healthcare providers since they will probably relate to some of the experiences
• the only exception to my recommendation is if you have triggers connected to medical content & pregnancies (recommend checking the full list of TWs)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Blood, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Abortion, Child death, Drug use, Excrement, Infertility, and Medical trauma

cicelybelle's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

As someone who works in a veterinary hospital, I found this book in some ways very relatable as in the craziest cases are often true! It is a very enjoyable listen if you like biology and are appropriately thick skinned when it comes to guts, gore, and hospitals. It’s very funny, yet movingly and conveys well the strain the NHS is under. Recommend the TV series too, if you enjoy the book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Abortion, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Alcoholism, Vomit, Cancer, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail