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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
As a paramedic & bookworm, I was asked by Quercus to review this book & I genuinely cannot fault it. I have met every one of its patients, felt every one of its emotions & had moments of such despondency & desperation that I’ve almost walked out of my career. But despite all of the NHS’s faults, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.
Can You Hear Me gets every aspect of the life of a paramedic right - it does not glorify it (because it certainly is not all about blood, guts & cardiac arrests) & it does not paint paramedics as heroes. As Jake points out, “we are normal people, doing a slightly abnormal thing”.
If you genuinely want to know what a paramedic does & what the job is really like, you won’t go wrong with Can You Hear Me. Loved it!
A warning that it’s penultimate chapter is extremely sad & was quite upsetting for me as I attended a similar incident last week. But if you want to know what we do, you need to know about it all.
Can You Hear Me gets every aspect of the life of a paramedic right - it does not glorify it (because it certainly is not all about blood, guts & cardiac arrests) & it does not paint paramedics as heroes. As Jake points out, “we are normal people, doing a slightly abnormal thing”.
If you genuinely want to know what a paramedic does & what the job is really like, you won’t go wrong with Can You Hear Me. Loved it!
A warning that it’s penultimate chapter is extremely sad & was quite upsetting for me as I attended a similar incident last week. But if you want to know what we do, you need to know about it all.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Not as good as previous paramedic memoirs but still a great read, really interesting with the different situations he went through
This book is the story of Jake who is a paramedic. It consists of memoirs of many cases that he has been involved in. As a fellow healthcare professional, we has been involved in emergency care, I was aware of the pressures on the ambulance service and hospitals, caused by time wasters and was so glad that this is talked about in the book to make the general public aware.
This book highlights the commitment and compassion of healthcare workers. Paramedics deal with life at the very beginning and sadly at the end of someone’s life.
I loved this book but I did feel that the writing was slightly disjointed at times.
This was a fast paced insight into the world of a paramedic.
This book highlights the commitment and compassion of healthcare workers. Paramedics deal with life at the very beginning and sadly at the end of someone’s life.
I loved this book but I did feel that the writing was slightly disjointed at times.
This was a fast paced insight into the world of a paramedic.
“Every occupation carries its own mythology. This one has the sparkle of excitement, but don’t be dazzled. Not all flashing lights mean there’s a disco going on.”
In Can You Hear Me?, Jake Jones (writing under a pseudonym) draws on his decade of experience as a paramedic in the UK to share the reality of what he encounters each day (and night) when he dons his green uniform.
The stories are told with compassion and humour, representing the mundane and miraculous, the triumphs and tragedies. Jones effortlessly evokes emotion as he relates tussling with an uncooperative drug addict, helping an ill man into clean pyjama’s, kneeling beside a man without a pulse, and cradling a newborn in his arms.
Jones also writes of the physical and emotional stress he (and his colleagues) experience, and must learn to manage, to avoid burn-out. I found some of his musings a little tedious, interrupting the flow of the narrative, but I appreciated his honesty. Of particular note are the author’s comments about the increasing strain placed on the ambulance service caused in large part by non-emergent calls, including those which require mental health, rather than medical, intervention.
Can You Hear Me? is an interesting and thought-provoking memoir exposing the challenges of paramedic work
In Can You Hear Me?, Jake Jones (writing under a pseudonym) draws on his decade of experience as a paramedic in the UK to share the reality of what he encounters each day (and night) when he dons his green uniform.
The stories are told with compassion and humour, representing the mundane and miraculous, the triumphs and tragedies. Jones effortlessly evokes emotion as he relates tussling with an uncooperative drug addict, helping an ill man into clean pyjama’s, kneeling beside a man without a pulse, and cradling a newborn in his arms.
Jones also writes of the physical and emotional stress he (and his colleagues) experience, and must learn to manage, to avoid burn-out. I found some of his musings a little tedious, interrupting the flow of the narrative, but I appreciated his honesty. Of particular note are the author’s comments about the increasing strain placed on the ambulance service caused in large part by non-emergent calls, including those which require mental health, rather than medical, intervention.
Can You Hear Me? is an interesting and thought-provoking memoir exposing the challenges of paramedic work
emotional
funny
informative
fast-paced
Absolutely couldn't put it down, I cried, I laughed and I loved every page!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide, Medical trauma
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced