A review by redheadbookgirl
Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients by Adam Kay

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

[No fiction / no rating]

I absolutely loved THIS IS GOING TO HURT so was really excited to read this: a sequel and prequel in one, it would seem. At first, my thoughts were ‘this isn’t really hitting the spot’ — it’s definitely less funny, and there are a lot less patient stories, which were what I loved so much in TIGTH. 

However I quickly realised (having gone in blind) that this wasn’t meant to be a funny book, rather a (quite sorrowful) tale of everything that went wrong for Kay: everything from medical school struggles, his health problems + eating disorder to leaving the NHS and struggling to build a new career in comedy. The two books therefore are really incomparable. 

If you go into this expecting LESS humour (not none.. his crude and witty writing style and unfiltered opinions are still very much present) and a much more honest tone, you will not be disappointed. Moving, frank, poignant, and vulnerable, this is a much more personal + serious book where we see a completely different side to Kay and he opens up about the struggles through his journey of medicine. 

This book also importantly talks about the negative aspects of the NHS, highlighting why so many people leave, and why it’s so important to improve the wellbeing (and pay!) of healthcare workers. I have a lot of respect for Kay in opening up, and having the strength to take the leap in leaving a career that was having such a negative affect on his health.  

I would definitely recommend giving this a read— just aware that among other content warnings, there is a lot of detail about EDs 🫶🏼

𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @ 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 🥀

Expand filter menu Content Warnings