Sometimes you ask yourself, “why didn’t I read this sooner”? I knew that I would like this book after all, but why did it take me so long to dive in?
Starting ‘This is going to hurt, confessions of a junior doctor’ by Adam Kay I was full of expectations.
I thought it would be funny, ironic with a sharp witted social commentary on the current state of affairs. As I was reading, I discovered that it had all these things and more.
Satire, coupled with a general sense of bewilderment, laugh-out-loud humour, and moments of poignancy.
“Tuesday, 9th November 2004: Bleeped awake at 3AM from my first half hour shut-eye in three shifts to prescribe a sleeping pill to a patient whose sleep is evidently much more important than mine. My powers are greater than I realised; I arrive on the ward to find the patient is asleep.” – Adam Kay, This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor.
The plot unravelled…
Written in the style of diary entries, the author took us through a journey, from the beginning – where the wide-eyed student decides to be a doctor not knowing what they are getting themselves into; continuing to the point where they’re leaving education still somewhat mystified and eager, up to the seasoned junior doctor – the perhaps somewhat disillusioned veteran of the countless emergencies, hours of the day that are not enough, and an almost non-existent personal life.
Why I loved this book…
Adam Kay’s narration was the perfect vehicle for this diary style memoir.
His ironic tone made the various moments of light and not-so-light humour stand out. And his honest delivery made it a deeply personal read.
The weaving of the sad moments in amongst the funny, at times incredulous situations the people working in the NHS faced gave me the impression of a minefield.
You never know when the next one is going to explode, when the next sad story is going to crop up – It gave me an inside glimpse of the other side.
Recommended reading.
I would highly recommend reading ‘This is going to hurt’.
I would suggest you listen to it as an audiobook as there are some added extras you might miss out on if you only had the print or kindle copy.
This was without a doubt 5 stars for me; and the first 5 star review of the year.
It was amazing.
