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krisluvswool 's review for:
I give this one 4.5 stars.
The book takes its reader (or in my case, listener) along the arc of the 10 year career of an EMT/Medic in Atlanta. Hazzard began training as an EMT almost on a lark-- looking for adventure, something to do, something... INTERESTING. Ten years later, he's writing about how he started afraid, unsure and ended up burned out and jaded by the daily realities of life, death, and everything that happens on an ambulance in between.
I heard Hazzard's interview on Fresh Air and downloaded the audio book almost immediately. I was disappointed in the narrator, who is not Hazzard, and who sounds a bit too polished to read the often gritty text. Had I not heard Hazzard's voice first, I might not have minded so much. There were also times when I found myself irritated with what seemed to be a boys' club kind of environment and tone to the narration-- but then I suspect it really is something of a boys's club.
Despite these two irritations, I found myself listening to the book every free moment, and occasionally considering running away from my job to join EMS. There is a lot of humanity in this memoir... and a lot of shocking inhumanity, too. Highly recommend.
The book takes its reader (or in my case, listener) along the arc of the 10 year career of an EMT/Medic in Atlanta. Hazzard began training as an EMT almost on a lark-- looking for adventure, something to do, something... INTERESTING. Ten years later, he's writing about how he started afraid, unsure and ended up burned out and jaded by the daily realities of life, death, and everything that happens on an ambulance in between.
I heard Hazzard's interview on Fresh Air and downloaded the audio book almost immediately. I was disappointed in the narrator, who is not Hazzard, and who sounds a bit too polished to read the often gritty text. Had I not heard Hazzard's voice first, I might not have minded so much. There were also times when I found myself irritated with what seemed to be a boys' club kind of environment and tone to the narration-- but then I suspect it really is something of a boys's club.
Despite these two irritations, I found myself listening to the book every free moment, and occasionally considering running away from my job to join EMS. There is a lot of humanity in this memoir... and a lot of shocking inhumanity, too. Highly recommend.