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If you loved
Books like This is going to hurt
A chaotic, laugh-out-loud descent into the grueling, blood-spattered reality of the medical frontline that ultimately breaks your heart. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with This is going to hurt.
- frenetic
- exhausted
- darkly comedic
- poignant
- 01
Do No Harm
Marsh, Henry
A brutally honest, high-stakes meditation on the fragility of human life and the heavy burden of holding it in your hands.
- 02
How to be a woman
Caitlin Moran
A riotous, unapologetic manifesto disguised as a memoir that makes you laugh out loud while dismantling the patriarchy.
- 03
Complications
Atul Gawande
An unflinching, deeply human look behind the surgical mask that reveals the terrifying and beautiful uncertainties of modern medicine.
- 04
The House of God
Samuel Shem · 1978
A frantic, pitch-black descent into the absurd and exhausting reality of medical training, fueled by gallows humor and sleep deprivation.
- 05
Being Mortal
Atul Gawande
A compassionate, clear-eyed exploration of how to find meaning and dignity when the body begins to fail.
- 06
Everything Happens for a Reason
Kate Bowler
A darkly funny, profoundly moving dismantling of the platitudes we use to protect ourselves from the randomness of tragedy.
- 07
The midwife
Jennifer Worth
A gritty, deeply compassionate window into the raw realities of birth, poverty, and female resilience in post-war London.
- 08
Bad Pharma: How Medicine is Broken, and How We Can Fix it
Ben Goldacre
A meticulously researched, infuriatingly compelling teardown of the medical-industrial complex that will permanently alter how you view a prescription pad.
- 09
How not to die
Jan Garavaglia · 2008
A morbidly fascinating, tough-love guide to staying alive, delivered straight from the autopsy table.
- 10
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Lori Gottlieb
A warm, witty, and profoundly human look in the mirror that makes you feel a little less alone in your messiness.
- 11
What My Bones Know
Stephanie Foo
A raw, investigative journey into the physical and emotional legacy of complex trauma, culminating in hard-won hope.
- 12
Furiously Happy
Jenny Lawson
A wildly tangential, laugh-out-loud manifesto on fighting crippling depression with weaponized absurdity.
