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This is going to hurt
298 pages
A chaotic, laugh-out-loud descent into the grueling, blood-spattered reality of the medical frontline that ultimately breaks your heart.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like being strapped into a gurney and pushed down a hospital corridor at breakneck speed. It is a masterclass in gallows humor, delivering punchy, diary-style entries that will have you laughing out loud at the sheer absurdity and bodily fluids involved in medical training. Yet, beneath the biting British wit and sarcastic observations lies a deeply exhausted, profoundly compassionate atmosphere. The brisk pace mirrors the relentless shifts of a junior doctor, pulling you through a chaotic blur of sleepless nights and impossible decisions. It delights readers who crave unflinching honesty and dark comedy, but be prepared: the emotional trajectory shifts from hilarious to devastating, leaving a lingering, sobering ache long after the final page.
- Mood
- frenetic
- exhausted
- darkly comedic
- poignant
- Tone
- wry
- sarcastic
- compassionate
- hilarious
- devastating
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- toll of caregiving · systemic failure · gallows humor · loss of innocence · professional burnout
- The writing
- Sharp, anecdotal, and punchy, laced with biting British wit and accessible medical jargon.
- The arc
- Begins with chaotic, laugh-out-loud absurdity and gradually descends into overwhelming exhaustion and a heartbreaking, sobering climax.
- Who it's for
- Readers who appreciate dark humor, medical memoirs, and unflinching honesty about the realities of high-stress professions.
Content notes
- medical trauma
- stillbirth and miscarriage
- blood and gore
- mental health struggles
- burnout
About the book
As soon as Adam Kay set foot on a hospital ward for the first time, he realized there's quite a lot they don't teach you at medical school... His diaries from the NHS front line - scribbled in secret after long nights, endless days and missed weekends - are hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking by turns. This Is Going to Hurt is everything you wanted to know about being a junior doctor, and more than a few things you really didn't. And yes, it may leave a scar.
Description from Open Library.
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