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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 is a very realistic view of the career lifespan of emergency service provider. Lots of great insights and explanations of what the insanity of this job is like. There are plenty of sensational, pretty graphic details without being over the top dramatic. Even gives a good glimpse into the very real, and sometimes dangerous, burnout and depression that comes with this career.
This would have been my favorite book if I read it when I was 11. Thing is, since then I've learned a whole lot about latent misogyny, white supremacy, redlining, sex work, class bias, internalized prejudices, and just about anything that can be wrapped up with "there goes another white dude with immense privilege presenting himself as a heroic, yet humble, Everyman."
Thus! This was a lightly personal essay about an interesting job told through a lens that was equal parts distracting and problematic. It was neat to learn about EMTs and the processes within emergency service. It was not cool to hear this guy describe it.
Here are some examples I don't want to forget before my book club discusses it!
- Referring to what happens if a woman doesn't receive an enema before giving birth as "unspeakable" (hey, guess what, it's poop), but describing a chainsaw to the jaw and the toothy pulp it creates in full. (Plus a gazillion other graphic descriptions.)
- Referring to a woman as a "crack whore" while congratulating himself on how he treats her with SO MUCH RESPECT. (Even other people recognize that he respects this woman! Isn't that incredible! He is kind! To a sex worker struggling with addiction and food insecurity! (Don't worry, he is sure to mention that she's rifling through a trash can while he's tailgating. Strangely, he doesn't mention inviting her to share his food.) W O W!)
- By his description, Atlanta is 95% projects full of people who are desperate and violent.
- Loved it when he described a large woman as "having no business being up X flights of stairs" because... she is fat? And her apartment is high up? Cool.
- Oh man, remember when that woman was stabbed and a cop talked about her huge breasts and everyone laughed and laughed? Oh, that was great. Love to sexualize a victim!
- Did you know that anyone laid low by a personal financial crisis (... that the world is experiencing) was raised "soft"? I do now!
There are more, but ugh, who wants to focus on them?
Thus! This was a lightly personal essay about an interesting job told through a lens that was equal parts distracting and problematic. It was neat to learn about EMTs and the processes within emergency service. It was not cool to hear this guy describe it.
Spoiler
Here are some examples I don't want to forget before my book club discusses it!
- Referring to what happens if a woman doesn't receive an enema before giving birth as "unspeakable" (hey, guess what, it's poop), but describing a chainsaw to the jaw and the toothy pulp it creates in full. (Plus a gazillion other graphic descriptions.)
- Referring to a woman as a "crack whore" while congratulating himself on how he treats her with SO MUCH RESPECT. (Even other people recognize that he respects this woman! Isn't that incredible! He is kind! To a sex worker struggling with addiction and food insecurity! (Don't worry, he is sure to mention that she's rifling through a trash can while he's tailgating. Strangely, he doesn't mention inviting her to share his food.) W O W!)
- By his description, Atlanta is 95% projects full of people who are desperate and violent.
- Loved it when he described a large woman as "having no business being up X flights of stairs" because... she is fat? And her apartment is high up? Cool.
- Oh man, remember when that woman was stabbed and a cop talked about her huge breasts and everyone laughed and laughed? Oh, that was great. Love to sexualize a victim!
- Did you know that anyone laid low by a personal financial crisis (... that the world is experiencing) was raised "soft"? I do now!
There are more, but ugh, who wants to focus on them?
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
medium-paced
A Book of the Month club read I chose on a whim. Glad I did, what a fun read! Mad props to those who work in EMS. I salute you!
An engaging ride along with EMT paramedics in Atlanta.
dark
tense
Really well written. I picked this up because I'd heard the author interviewed, and didn't even realize until I started reading that he worked in Atlanta, which made it even more interesting, since I moved to the area long after the Olympics changed things so much, so stories of what it was like before are kind of fascinating if horrifying.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced