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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
This was an interesting read. As a ICU Nurse, I see the patients after EMS have gotten the patient, started an IV, started fluid resuscitation, and maybe even secured an airway and performed CPR. So reading about the challenges these hero's face before they come to the hospital to be an amalgam of being informative, hilarious, and completely identifiable to me. Healthcare workers, in my opinion, see a different side of humanity than what the majority of people see. As a result, it is imperative to develop a wicked sense of humor to help to cope. Hazzard definitely expresses this type of humor throughout his book. So, if you are easily offended, you may not like this book. However, if you are OK with wicked humor, do not have a weak stomach, and what seems like a pretty honest account of what healthcare providers experience, I would recommend this book.
PS: I know that I finished this book 1 day after EMS week (May 15-21, 2016), but I wanted to sincerely wish all of our Emergency Medical Service personnel a Happy EMS week, and Thank you for all that you do! We appreciate you!
PS: I know that I finished this book 1 day after EMS week (May 15-21, 2016), but I wanted to sincerely wish all of our Emergency Medical Service personnel a Happy EMS week, and Thank you for all that you do! We appreciate you!
adventurous
funny
informative
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail
This was a super interesting read. Going in, I knew nothing about EMT's or Paramedics (or that there was even a difference between the two), and it was really interesting to have a first hand account of what both jobs entail. I knew that they had really difficult and stressful jobs, but it is one the to abstractly know this and quite another to read personal accounts of someone's time in these professions. It was interesting to read this man's journey from an anxiety-ridden newbie, to cocky and confident seasoned professional and eventually ending up kinda disillusioned and run down by the end of his decade long stint in the progression. It was an up and down emotional ride along in the ambulance with Hazzard as he details some of the different calls he was on and the types of situations he was placed in. This book did have a lot of anecdotes and stories about the craziness Hazzard experienced as an EMT and paramedic, but it is also so much more than that. It is about his journey.
I just took a wild ride through the streets of Atlanta with EMTs and medics. Author Kevin Hazzard spent a decade offering medical to an array of people with a myriad of problems. His method of storytelling requires no hyperbole. He just quietly relates his experience in remarkable detail. We meet people suffering strokes, heart attacks, knife attacks, car accidents, and drug overdoses. Hazzard often assisted people living on the fringe of society--people in housing projects, homeless shelters, and squatters in abandoned buildings. He also describes his fellow EMTs and medics and shares a little bit of the sometimes uneasy relationships among various first responders--police officers, fire fighters, and medics/EMTs.
Over the course of 24 hours, I made time to read his book in its entirety.
But Hazzard does more than just replay suspenseful and horrifying calls. He also stands back and offers analysis about the profession in general and his own complex relationship to the cast of characters and the work.
EMTs and medics have to deal a variety of calls, but often these are life-and-death situations that involve people who are chaotic, emotional and not in a rational state of mind. Other people on the scene often complicate the delivery of life-saving services. And the EMTs and medics themselves have various degrees of skill and investment.
The book had so many jaw-dropping moments, I'm even more so hoping that I never have to call 911 and request emergency medical treatment. But if I do, heaven help me and heaven help the exhausted, constantly challenged people who drive up in the ambulance.
Over the course of 24 hours, I made time to read his book in its entirety.
But Hazzard does more than just replay suspenseful and horrifying calls. He also stands back and offers analysis about the profession in general and his own complex relationship to the cast of characters and the work.
EMTs and medics have to deal a variety of calls, but often these are life-and-death situations that involve people who are chaotic, emotional and not in a rational state of mind. Other people on the scene often complicate the delivery of life-saving services. And the EMTs and medics themselves have various degrees of skill and investment.
The book had so many jaw-dropping moments, I'm even more so hoping that I never have to call 911 and request emergency medical treatment. But if I do, heaven help me and heaven help the exhausted, constantly challenged people who drive up in the ambulance.
This is a story about one of those jobs people always ask about. Humanity has a macabre obsession with the sick and the dead. This book feeds into that desire to peek into the life of a medic and vicariously live their day to day. An interesting and voyeuristic read.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Such a FUNNY and insightful read!
I have always known that the work my fiancé does as an EMT, and now as an AEMT, is special, important, and not for the faint-of-heart. I have always been so proud of him and what he does, and so proud of all he does. But this book made me gain a deeper respect for EMS as a whole. The grit, the endurance, the gravity of what the work day of a first responder means...I don't want to say it was lost on me, but Hazzard helped shine a light to things I didn't know were in the dark.
Kevin (my fiancé, not the author haha) has been an EMT for well over a decade. His seasoned knowledge of medicine and emergencies is something I now realize I've taken for granted, and this book helped me see how much of a toll this work can take on someone.
To any first responder who comes across this, to any healthcare provider...but specifically EMTs and AEMTs - Thank you for all that you do. You are seen and you are appreciated, though not often enough. Be safe ❣️🚑
I have always known that the work my fiancé does as an EMT, and now as an AEMT, is special, important, and not for the faint-of-heart. I have always been so proud of him and what he does, and so proud of all he does. But this book made me gain a deeper respect for EMS as a whole. The grit, the endurance, the gravity of what the work day of a first responder means...I don't want to say it was lost on me, but Hazzard helped shine a light to things I didn't know were in the dark.
Kevin (my fiancé, not the author haha) has been an EMT for well over a decade. His seasoned knowledge of medicine and emergencies is something I now realize I've taken for granted, and this book helped me see how much of a toll this work can take on someone.
To any first responder who comes across this, to any healthcare provider...but specifically EMTs and AEMTs - Thank you for all that you do. You are seen and you are appreciated, though not often enough. Be safe ❣️🚑
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
Quick read. Interesting look into the life of an EMS/Paramedic. Not what I expected but it was good nonetheless. Made me see why I find jobs such as these so fascinating to read about.
Author wrote with humor and candor.
Author wrote with humor and candor.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced