Catch Your Breath: The Secret Life of a Sleepless Anaesthetist

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He is cutting his teeth in anaesthetics, taking people as close to death as you can take them, and then trying to wake them up again. The stories ring true throughout and offer a real feeling of the reality of work on the frontline of national healthcare. Ed Patrick takes us on his sleep deprived, hilarious, heart breaking, journey into becoming a medical student, through his years of training and then on rotation as a junior doctor, before making the decision to begin his training to become an anaesthetist.

I found I could pick it up and read a little at a time, due to the relatively short chapters and the fact it’s split into sections. I cannot recommend this book enough, we have all seen the strains of the pandemic on the news so it makes for really interesting insight hearing about it from someone within the NHS. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.Ed has written and performed on BBC Radio 4, for shows “Now Wash Your Hands” and “Newsjack”, and he has also written for the Guardian about the intersection between medicine and comedy. This is a human, mature, yet humorous account of life as a junior medic, in perhaps the most testing of times. Ed Patrick is a really good narrator, I laughed along with him at many times but could also feel the emotion in his writing for the darker days he has dealt with. Ed also smashes that rule - this is a beautifully written book which is also incredibly funny, with regular laugh out loud moments. Perhaps I am a little biased, having specialised my reading in non-fiction and with a weird interest in reading/watching medical stuff.

The first part is very light-hearted, and to be honest, he doesn't always inspire confidence as he recounts his experiences. Yet through all of this, the abuse from the Covid deniers, the corruption around PPI, they kept going, they found humour in the darkest of moments! Ed weaves his humanity through this, with frequent and tender references to his family, in particular his parents which leaves you in no doubt as to the man he is.What is really happening there is unfathomable for the majority of - hopefully - accidental visitors of the surgery room. takes you on a captivating journey through the life of an Anesthetist, shedding light on a role often overlooked in the medical world.