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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
funny
fast-paced
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy
“They must have something that cannot be memorized and graded; a great doctor must have a huge heart and a distended aorta through which pumps a vast lake of compassion and human kindness.”
I can’t believe I’m finally done with this book. It was a marathon. Reading this on my way to medical school was both enjoyable and challenging. Not in the sense that it wasn’t good. It was amazing. In fact, it was so good that I kept reading it as slowly as possible, absorbing all the sentences and chapters like a sponge. From the very first chapter, it was so relevant to me that I was highlighting everything (an embarrassing mix of enticing literary paragraphs and straight-up medical terminology.) But still, the best part was figuring I was a breech-presented (head up) baby so yay!
I’m by no account a doctor. In fact, I’m the furthest from that. So I basically breathed in all the medical remarks in this book. The way Adam Kay depicted the struggles of a physician and peppered some comedy at times made them understandable. One of the conversations in the book goes like this: “Me: ’but it’s my birthday.’ Midwife: ‘It’s labor ward - it’s always someone’s birthday.’”
Something I need to mention from the bat is how they incorporated the book into the show. As someone who watched the show before reading the book, the experience was multi-dimensional. You’ll see how the real-life cases panned out in the series, and they are suddenly more realistic.
“Once I became a registrar, I noticed the interesting paradox that while you become an expert in prioritizing at work, you generally become even worse at prioritizing in real life.” A subject that most interested me was the work-life balance. It was extensively shown in the series and written in the book. I was so invested that it slowly turned into a fear of mine. Watching Adam struggle to keep a life outside the hospital was like watching myself make all the wrong decisions. This spiraled me into having a long but necessary conversation with Parmida which really anchored me. I haven’t been happier about being surrounded by incredible people.
One of the show’s highlights was Shruti. From the amazing performance to all the scenes, her character made the show more alive and grounded. The only mention of someone similar to Shruti in the book was that infamous Adolf baby. The person closest to her was Simon in the book. Adam explains their relationship throughout the book in short updates. I was honestly amazed by how they birthed (don’t even mention it) Shruti out of this information. She added so much more to the plot and I’ll never forget her storyline.
Besides its comedic wittiness, the book is a brilliant description of this field. In some cases, I was left there overthinking my choice. As much as he talked about the rewards of this job, he discussed the moments he just wanted to give up. “Of course, the job would be difficult emotionally when things went wrong - not every story has a happy ending - but the depth of the lows is the price you pay for the height of the highs.”
Adam Kay is not a physician anymore. It’s not a spoiler, he mentions it from the start. You’re just waiting for that important event that made him stop the practice. But it’s not about just one event. It’s about the buildup and how challenging it gets to deal with everything on your plate all by yourself. All I can say is that it was definitely worth reading the book.
“But life goes on, even if it’s peppered with annoying reminders.”
I can’t believe I’m finally done with this book. It was a marathon. Reading this on my way to medical school was both enjoyable and challenging. Not in the sense that it wasn’t good. It was amazing. In fact, it was so good that I kept reading it as slowly as possible, absorbing all the sentences and chapters like a sponge. From the very first chapter, it was so relevant to me that I was highlighting everything (an embarrassing mix of enticing literary paragraphs and straight-up medical terminology.) But still, the best part was figuring I was a breech-presented (head up) baby so yay!
I’m by no account a doctor. In fact, I’m the furthest from that. So I basically breathed in all the medical remarks in this book. The way Adam Kay depicted the struggles of a physician and peppered some comedy at times made them understandable. One of the conversations in the book goes like this: “Me: ’but it’s my birthday.’ Midwife: ‘It’s labor ward - it’s always someone’s birthday.’”
Something I need to mention from the bat is how they incorporated the book into the show. As someone who watched the show before reading the book, the experience was multi-dimensional. You’ll see how the real-life cases panned out in the series, and they are suddenly more realistic.
“Once I became a registrar, I noticed the interesting paradox that while you become an expert in prioritizing at work, you generally become even worse at prioritizing in real life.” A subject that most interested me was the work-life balance. It was extensively shown in the series and written in the book. I was so invested that it slowly turned into a fear of mine. Watching Adam struggle to keep a life outside the hospital was like watching myself make all the wrong decisions. This spiraled me into having a long but necessary conversation with Parmida which really anchored me. I haven’t been happier about being surrounded by incredible people.
One of the show’s highlights was Shruti. From the amazing performance to all the scenes, her character made the show more alive and grounded. The only mention of someone similar to Shruti in the book was that infamous Adolf baby. The person closest to her was Simon in the book. Adam explains their relationship throughout the book in short updates. I was honestly amazed by how they birthed (don’t even mention it) Shruti out of this information. She added so much more to the plot and I’ll never forget her storyline.
Besides its comedic wittiness, the book is a brilliant description of this field. In some cases, I was left there overthinking my choice. As much as he talked about the rewards of this job, he discussed the moments he just wanted to give up. “Of course, the job would be difficult emotionally when things went wrong - not every story has a happy ending - but the depth of the lows is the price you pay for the height of the highs.”
Adam Kay is not a physician anymore. It’s not a spoiler, he mentions it from the start. You’re just waiting for that important event that made him stop the practice. But it’s not about just one event. It’s about the buildup and how challenging it gets to deal with everything on your plate all by yourself. All I can say is that it was definitely worth reading the book.
“But life goes on, even if it’s peppered with annoying reminders.”
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Every government treats the NHS inhumanely and it’s disgusting. Books like this, of this format, honesty, humanness in humour and emotional honesty, are imperative in denying politicians the power to continue slashing its funding and admonishing the incredible staff. Don’t read this if you have a uterus and are a terrible hypochondriac.
Alarmingly accurate, also funny. I think he was probably a good doctor.
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced