Hi All,

Finished listening to this absolutely awesome audio book and excited to write this review. Not that I want to jinx it, but I’m going to anyway, I feel like I’ve read so many books that I’ve loved recently. I’ve got back into the routine of “read one, listen to one in parallel” and it’s been great book after great book. This one being exceptionally special in that it’s the last book of my 2018 reading challenge. Yay! What a high to complete the challenge on.

Adam Kay progressed from junior doctor to senior registrar working for the NHS. During his time as a healthcare professional, he kept a diary of his painfully long shifts and now that he’s no longer in the job, he’s sharing some of his diary entries. Behold; the birth of This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor.

Obviously I’m not very observant, and didn’t realise that the title picture of this audio book clearly states “written and read by Adam Kay” therefore I didn’t expect it to be read by Kay. This is Going to Hurt is an inaccurate title; it didn’t hurt, it wasn’t painful, I loved it. I howled through so much of this book. The outrageous stories of both patient and doctor antics and what I can only describe as dumbness in some of them was pure brilliance. I’m in no way squeamish (which is blessing when listening to this) but even some parts were a lot for my hard rock tummy and there was more than once occasion my hand snapped up to my face in shock/horror/laughter.

Aside from the jokes, I took some heart wrenching lessons away from this book too. I love the NHS and I believe it is the biggest thing that the UK has to be proud of. So it deeply saddens me to hear about how their staff are undervalued, over worked and underpaid. How is it viably possible that there are individuals out there that get paid more to post on Instagram than our doctors get paid to save lives. No judgment from me social influencers, get your paper the way you know how, but it just doesn’t make sense! Doctors, nurses, midwives; all healthcare professionals deserve endless amounts more. More recognition. More care. More support.

In summary, if you haven’t read this book. READ IT. Adam Kay’s dry sense of humour, brilliant writing and hilarious delivery is everything. Also, if you’re in the UK, next time (which I hope isn’t soon) you need to call on the NHS, be appreciative. Say thank you. Wish them a good day. Pay them a smile. I can’t rate this book anything less than a full sha-bang 5 stars. Love!!

😍😍😍😍😍

“Tuesday, 5 July 2005 Trying to work out a seventy-year-old lady’s alcohol consumption to record in the notes. I’ve established that wine is her poison. Me: ‘And how much wine do you drink per day, would you say?’ Patient: ‘About three bottles on a good day.’ Me: ‘OK . . . And on a bad day?’ Patient: ‘On a bad day I only manage one.”

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay