Play Book Tag discussion

This Is Going to Hurt – Adam Kay
Book on CD narrated by the author
3***

Subtitle: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor (or “..of a Medical Resident” in the USA)

Adam Kay wanted to be a doctor. He was drawn to the idea of helping people in distress. When he was a medical student and a “junior doctor” (residency in the USA), he kept a diary of his experiences. This memoir is based on those entries.

I’ve always been interested in medicine and the work done by medical professionals. This promised humor along with information. He delivered on both those promises, but …

I really didn’t much care for the format of diary entries. It lacked narrative flow for me. The last chapter is an essay on the aftermath of a horrendous case that changed his outlook forever. Kay is no longer a practicing physician, but instead makes his living as a comedian and writer for television and film.

Kay narrates the audiobook himself. He was quite effective. Though for American ears, there are some acronyms he uses that took a while for me to figure out. (A&E in the British term for ER; “accident & emergency” = “emergency room”) The audio also includes a bonus section of additional diary entries that didn’t make the cut in the first edition. It served to bring the humor back in focus, rather than ending on a down note.

P.S. I was glad I had the text handy, as he does not read all the footnotes, and I found them quite interesting.


LINK to my review