Dear NHS 100 Stories to Say Thank You - Adam Kay and various celebrities

Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You by Adam Kay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Pages - 408

Publisher - Orion

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads


Created and edited by Adam Kay (author of multi-million best seller 'This is Going to Hurt'), 'DEAR NHS' features household names telling their personal stories of the health service. Contributors include Joanna Lumley, Naomie Harris, Kate Tempest, Lee Child, Tanni Grey Thomson, Bill Bryson, Trevor McDonald, Jack Whitehall, Michael Palin, Stanley Tucci and many, many more.

All profits from this book will go to NHS Charities Together to fund vital research and projects and the Lullaby Trust which supports parents bereaved of babies and young children.

The NHS is our single greatest achievement as a country. No matter who you are, no matter what your health needs are and no matter how much money you have, the NHS is there for you. In 'DEAR NHS', 100 inspirational people come together to share their stories of how the National Health Service has been there for them and changed their lives in the process. By turns deeply moving, hilarious, hopeful and impassioned, these stories together become a love letter to the NHS and the 1.4 million people who go above and beyond the call of duty every single day - selflessly, generously, putting others before themselves, never more so than now.

They are all heroes, and this book is our way of saying thank you.



My Review


Someone said to me, if you work in the NHS and read this don't you think it is a bit self serving (or something to that effect). No! Yes the book is a Thank You to the NHS but it is about the people sharing THEIR stories, it is THEIR experiences and they just happen to be celebrities.

Working in healthcare, in any setting, if you don't work in it it is hard to explain. You are blessed, challenged, pushed, stressed, happy, sad, privileged and get to experience and share things that you otherwise, in any other job or walk of life you would not.

This book is a collection of many peoples stories, what happened to them and their experience in and with the NHS, there are poems too. The actual stories, some are heartbreaking, frightening, breath taking, very personal glimpses and snapshots into what these people experienced in their time with or appreciation of the NHS.

I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you work in the NHS, like healthcare stories, have an interest in celebrities - this book offers something for everyone. I felt quite emotive reading the personal accounts, peoples brushes with the NHS, no matter how you feel currently, the NHS is a special and precious service to many, 4/5 for me this time. I read tons of books across many genres but I do find true stories in health settings so interesting. Accounts and experiences are so varied, life is so precious, the old but for the grace of God go I.

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Twas the Nightshift before Christmas by Adam Kay

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 2 hours

Pages - 144

Publisher - Picador

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas is the hilarious, poignant and entertaining story of the life of a junior doctor at the most challenging time of the year. With twenty-five tales of intriguing, shocking and incredible Christmas incidents, the British public will finally appreciate the sacrifices made and the challenges faced by the unsung heroes of the NHS.

Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas will be fully illustrated (as tastefully as possible) and will delight all of Adam’s fans throughout the festive period of Christmas 2019 and for many years to come.


My Review

If you haven't read Kay's first book you may actually enjoy this more as you have nothing to compare it to. "This is going to hurt" is book one, a few hundred pages and really in depth over his career and what led to him no longer being with the NHS. This book is tiny in comparison and only covers the handful of Christmas shifts he had to do as a doctor over the festive season.

Funny, cringe, sad. horrific and lots and lots of swearing. Kay takes you on a journey with him as he covers many medical situations in his time in the NHS and a wee glimpse of some of the issues the staff face, no time off for a loved ones funeral :O and some of the weird and wonderful things human beings experience.

There is one chapter highlighted before it goes into it that some readers may find horrific and hard going, on abortion and one particular case for him. It is well signposted and you can skip past which I think is really good of him as once seen you can't unsee and abortion is a very emotive subject for many for a variety of reasons. Like I said if you read and loved the first book I am sure you will enjoy this one, I did but I couldn't help but compare the two from the minute I got my hands on the physical book of this one. Lacking in size, depth and maybe a quarter of what the original one gave us, to be fair I could read his stories all day and was left wanting more, 3.5/5 for me.

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