The author of bestseller This is Going to Hurt reveals the tales from his profession that have shaped his life and writing
Senior Writer and Commissioning Editor
Every now and again a book comes along which makes such a monumental impact that it seems to be absolutely everywhere you look. Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, a diary account of his time working as a NHS junior doctor, is one of those books. Hilarious, heartbreaking, enraging and completely unforgettable, it was no wonder it sold several million copies and was adapted into an acclaimed BBC drama starring Ben Whishaw.
Now, as Kay turns his pen to fiction with A Particularly Nasty Case, a murder mystery set in the hallowed halls of a hospital, he shares the five medical books which have shaped his life and writing…
With the End in Mind by Kathryn Mannix
“I’m not particularly excited about dying, to be honest, although I suppose it might be nice to have a lie down. Most people are so terrified about the big beyond that they’re both unwilling and unprepared to ever talk about it. Not palliative care consultant Kathryn Mannix, who has spent decades readying her patients for the end and ensuring they have good deaths.
“Her frank, thoughtful and deeply compassionate book isn’t just for the ill or the bereaved, it’s for all of us. Mannix’s wisdom and sensitively told stories of her patients’ final days make for an emotional and surprisingly uplifting read. It changed the way I think, and I can’t think of higher praise for a book than that.”
William Collins, £9.99
House of God by Samuel Shem
“Notionally fiction, this is all but a memoir, told by Boston psychiatrist Stephen Bergman under a nom-de-not-getting-struck-off. Long hours, lack of guidance from senior colleagues, life-and-death responsibilities: this was This is Going to Hurt 40 years before This is Going to Hurt.
“Its raunchy, acerbic and brutal portrayal of a broken health system caused little short of a scandal back in the 70s, brilliantly exposing the uncomfortable reality of working as, and being treated by, exhausted doctors. It still cuts to the marrow.”
Black Swan, £9.99
An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
“I first read this book at medical school, an unusual but as it turned out transformative birthday present from my friend Farah. When clinical psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison published this memoir of living with and fighting against bipolar disorder, any discussion about mental health was a very different conversation – usually a judgemental, mocking, and dismissive one.
“Jamison pulls no punches, and her story is fascinating, smart and clear-eyed, but also heartbreaking: a psychiatrist recommends Jamison never has children because of the genetic aspect to her condition. I think of this book as one of the earliest stakes in the heart of mental health stigma.”
Picador, £9.99
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
“In the last year of his residency, Californian neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi found himself with an unthinkable diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer.
“He wrote beautifully about being on the other side of such devastating news, and you root for him to get better – all the while knowing he won’t, as When Breath Becomes Air was published posthumously. Kalanithi died aged 37 in 2015, but leaves one of the finest medical memoirs as his legacy.”
Vintage, £10.99
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
“Oliver Sacks’s deconstruction of the functioning and malfunctioning of the human brain is a staple of the genre for a very good reason – for my money it’s the most fascinating collection of case studies ever brought together in a book.
“Each of the 24 vignettes looks at a different quirk of a patient’s control centre, all adding up to a unique map of the mind, with Sacks’s affection for and loyalty to those seeking his help shining from every word. Also, an unbeatable title.”
Picador, £10.99
‘A Particularly Nasty Case’ by Adam Kay (Orion, £20) is out now. Adam Kay is on tour nationwide, see adamkay.com