Author: Adam Kay
Besides the fact that I am now afraid of having children (only joking, although it did make me reconsider it for a while), “This is Going to Hurt” is an amazing and entertaining book. I probably wouldn’t have picked for myself, but a friend recommended it to me, so I gave it an opportunity, and I am so glad I did!
My first thought when I saw the structure of the book was that it might be a bit repetitive as it has entries from his diaries as a doctor, but I couldn’t be more wrong. This novel is exciting and interesting from the beginning.
Adam Kay used to be a doctor and is now a comedian, so he describes his day to day anecdotes and experiences as an obstetrician in a hilarious manner, adding his personal sense of humor and sarcasm is something that I really enjoyed. He also includes footnotes for every single medical term that it will not be in everyone’s vocabulary to give context of his records.
His honesty about his feelings and the limits he pushed as a doctor are heartwarming. He provides the perspective of how difficult it is for doctors to balance their personal life and the commitment they made as doctors, and how sometimes we just take it for granted. It is well known that doctors are unappreciated sometimes, especially for the level of the sacrifice they make for their patients and their career but reading it from a doctor’s angle changes the way you look at them. It provided me with a whole new level of understanding and sympathy that I didn’t have before.
As the book progresses, the anecdotes become more and more real. Remind us of the fine line between life and death and how doctors deal with that every day. The comedy ceases towards the end when he reaches a point when he makes the hard decision of quitting medicine.
This is an incredible book, I personally loved it. It changes the way you look at things when you are talking about doctors and why they might be receiving you late for their appointment. It reminds you that they are people too with mental and physical stretches, an eye-opener one might say. If you haven’t yet, please give this a read!
