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385 reviews for:
A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back
Kevin Hazzard
3.85 AVERAGE
385 reviews for:
A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back
Kevin Hazzard
3.85 AVERAGE
informative
ARC received from: Netgalley
One-Sentence Summary: An inside look at the professional life of an EMT/paramedic in Atlanta
Review: This book was really interesting and I felt like I got a full account of the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was a bit gory in places but that was to be expected given the subject matter. I would definitely recommend to people wanting to find out what the true experience of being a paramedic is like.
One-Sentence Summary: An inside look at the professional life of an EMT/paramedic in Atlanta
Review: This book was really interesting and I felt like I got a full account of the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was a bit gory in places but that was to be expected given the subject matter. I would definitely recommend to people wanting to find out what the true experience of being a paramedic is like.
informative
fast-paced
I could listen to anyone talk about their job for hours, especially any job that works with the public. I've shared stories with friends who have worked retail or restaurant jobs, I've asked a million and one questions to local news reporters I've worked with about public interactions, and after listening to A Thousand Naked Strangers, I just know I could sit and listen to an EMT/former EMT tell me every story they have with rapt awe like a kid during story time.
After 9/11, Hazzard left behind his brief start in journalism to try to find a job that would be rewarding and where he could contribute to something important; being an EMT seemed to be the answer for him. After completing his training, he was thrown right into the thick of things and I felt like I had been thrown into that ambulance right beside him. The sights, the sounds, the smells. I felt like I was right there with him the entire time.
A major throughline in this memoir is burnout. It's a common issue with those employed in such a profession (routinely working overnight, weekends, and holidays while seeing the worst damage on a human body), and Hazzard repeats it. Those who have gone through burnout, those who warn him of burnout, and those he loses to burnout. Despite this, when Hazzard is finally faced with his own burnout, he doesn't crash out. He chooses to step away and return to writing—and parenthood—full-time for the sake of his own sanity despite being passionate about the job for a decade.
While Hazzard's experiences in EMS are a mixed bag of good days and bad days and crazy days, the entire memoir is not totally depressing or overwhelming. Hazzard includes his own brand of dry, dark humor and sly observations about his experiences alongside his storytelling. And my final observation is that EMTs and paramedics are not paid enough for what they do.
After 9/11, Hazzard left behind his brief start in journalism to try to find a job that would be rewarding and where he could contribute to something important; being an EMT seemed to be the answer for him. After completing his training, he was thrown right into the thick of things and I felt like I had been thrown into that ambulance right beside him. The sights, the sounds, the smells. I felt like I was right there with him the entire time.
A major throughline in this memoir is burnout. It's a common issue with those employed in such a profession (routinely working overnight, weekends, and holidays while seeing the worst damage on a human body), and Hazzard repeats it. Those who have gone through burnout, those who warn him of burnout, and those he loses to burnout. Despite this, when Hazzard is finally faced with his own burnout, he doesn't crash out. He chooses to step away and return to writing—and parenthood—full-time for the sake of his own sanity despite being passionate about the job for a decade.
While Hazzard's experiences in EMS are a mixed bag of good days and bad days and crazy days, the entire memoir is not totally depressing or overwhelming. Hazzard includes his own brand of dry, dark humor and sly observations about his experiences alongside his storytelling. And my final observation is that EMTs and paramedics are not paid enough for what they do.
"In the beginning, it was all sirens and heroes and saving lives. A few years later, I hated the sounds of sirens. I'd saved lives but never enough, and I'd done heroic things, though never once did I feel like a hero."
i got busy with other books and haven’t picked it up since, i’ll try reading it again later!
I loved reading this book! It's graphic, but only in strangely-beautiful descriptive realism. Nothing is sugar-coated. I feel I have a better view of the banality of death and even trauma. We have to incorporate it into our view of how the world works. Sometimes the language bordered on flowery or indulgent (he is a writer-turned-medic, not a medic-turned-writer), but it was easy to get through and onto the satisfying moments.
This was a quick read. It required little thinking and few gory details. I enjoyed it for what it was, though deep and enriching are not words I would choose to describe it.
This book was very enlightening and at times entertaining. It definitely gave a good insider's view into the world of EMS.
This is not for the squeamish. It's a well written account of all the crazy, gross things a medic deals with. Reading on my lunch break maybe wasn't the best idea given the level of blood, piss and maggots involved, but it was still a great read.
Wow. This was a fast-paced, intense look at one medic's 10 years of service in Atlanta. We follow his career from self-doubt, to skill, to burn-out. Very interesting peek into a very tough job. I've "hung around" the edges of medicine for much of my life without ever committing to doing anything real, and I always enjoy the "real life" stories that I am used to hearing from my mom, a longtime nurse, and all the people I came in contact with working in nursing homes, hospitals and medical offices. This book rang true. Hard to put this one down!
fast-paced
This was the true story of a man who decided to be an emt, then medic, then burned out.
I liked that he told his story in short chapters both with humor and seriousness.
As a part of this community it was a very true account not sugar coated at all and reminds me of many people I know and the places near where I live.
I liked that he told his story in short chapters both with humor and seriousness.
As a part of this community it was a very true account not sugar coated at all and reminds me of many people I know and the places near where I live.