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"this was at times a very uncomfortable read however just when i thought i couldn't read anymore something took hold of me and wanted me to carry on"

""to live is to suffer to survive is to find meaning in the suffering" "he who has a why to live can bear with almost any how" i have witnessed these two quotes in action with so many people who have experienced severe trauma in their lives many from within the military veterans community"

"this book however was a real disappointment"

"it tells the true story of how human beings survive in the most awful circumstances"

"i didn't intend to review this book just specifically for this reason but recently in my own life i have had a diagnosis that my long term cancer which was in remission has metastasised to lungs liver and bones and i am now in the 'endgame' which may be a couple of years or perhaps four or so years long"

"the second part about logotherapy was utterly dull & unclear despite me having studied many schools of psychotherapy in my training "

"where it challenges the meaning of good and evil in a way that only humanitys greatest catastrophe could do so"

"the first section where he describes his time in a concentration camp and the ways that he and his fellow inmates attempted to cope with the terrible conditions is extremely good"

"well written book illuminates many aspects of human nature and calls into question can in even the most dire circumstances meaning be found?"

"the 2nd part of the book which is less compelling is a summary of logotherapy a tenet of which is that even unavoidable suffering has a certain meaning in life"

"it is one that every single person should own and read because after you have read it you realise that misfortune and all the negative events of your life can only touch you to a certain extent: you have the ability to decide what your response will be"

"the book is also not overloaded emotionally which allows for a focus of course it's up to the reader to choose the topic of focus but this books surely offers a few"

"he is clearly mentally resilient and robust to find a way of dealing with the harsh conditions of a slaughter camp called auschwitz without being dehumanised"

"i thought it would be a traumatic read overly empathic response too immersed in the emotive horrors"

"i'd thought myself somewhat desensitised to depictions of the holocaust but frankl's matter of fact and rancour free prose proved very unsettling"

"and as if to prove the point of man's inability to learn anything from history is the fact that i read it as conflicts in the world continue to demonstrate man's contempt for human life and of the suffering endured by those whose skin colour or beliefs marks them out for despicable acts of inhuman behaviour"

"secondly despair and depression are not at all correlated with the experience of adversity but if anything inversely so: in our modern plentiful and comfortable times neuroses are legion"

"i’ve read many holocaust memoirs & this is the driest most dispassionate by far"

"a read for all to be aware and understand how far extreme persecution can go and for what?"

"this man went through hell and yet still is an inspiration he has made me see i can still have to make my own contribution to the world no matter how small"

"it keeps a perspective on our own very trivial sufferings"

"more an inspirational tale of over coming detrimental circumstance"

"to clarify the book is composed of three different parts: the first one the original tale of what living in a concentration camp was the second one a gentle introduction to logotherapy and the third one about tragic optimism "

"this is a must read book for anyone suffering from extreme despair loss bereavement torture emotional deprivation childhood abuse and the privations of war natural disaster and the like"

"it highlights the reality of a vast swathe oh people whose search for meaning is simply scorned as fruitless frivolous and with ultimate irony meaningless"

"this must have been difficult given the subject"

"but actually it’s a detached prose insofar as a scientist who lives his unchosen experiment can write which signifies the importance of finding meaning in life"

"the particular significance of this book is in respect of this observations on the human condition during the most horrendous of circumstances"

"and as if to prove the point of man's inability to learn anything from history is the fact that i read it as conflicts in the world continue to demonstrate man's contempt for human life and of the suffering endured by those whose skin colour or beliefs marks them out for despicable acts of inhuman behaviour"

"it was one of the first books written that described life in the concentration camps in ww2 with in the second part frankl's theories on why some people survived the labour camps as opposed to the death camps where many were sent to be murdered obviously while others didn't"

"but all the same this seems to me a plausible explanation for modern melancholy: who these days isn't continually and forcibly preoccupied with things he or she doesn't truly value?"

"frankel discovered in the camp that the key to surviving suffering is to find meaning in the suffering and to design for yourself an ultimate goal in life that you focus on to get through the suffering a must read for anyone experiencing ongoing suffering or depression"

"in today's world full of shallow therapies like cbt logotherapy is goes to the root cause"

"it enlightens the reader with very simple and logical answers to questions that seem complicated"

"a warning from history of brutal regimes"

"my uncle was taken by the nazis and was almost dead due to typhus when the camp at dachau was liberated"

"a heart breaking journey for but just one man but thousands in their ordeal and uneccesary suffering inflicted by a sick minded and his officers frankl gives meaning to the darkest days a man can fall upon"

"the book itself is divided into three parts starting with a first hand account of frankl's gruesome experiences in various concentration camps in ww2 continuing with 'logotherapy in a nutshell' where the approach is explained in more depth and ending with an essay on logotherapy adapted from his speech at the 3rd logtherapy congress in 1983 if memory serves "

"but all the same this seems to me a plausible explanation for modern melancholy: who these days isn't continually and forcibly preoccupied with things he or she doesn't truly value?"

"his book chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes how he used his psychiatry psychotherapy skills to guide himself and the other holocaust victims to survive their mental suffering in the death camps those who had lost faith in the future their future were doomed"

"i would say towards the end of logotherapy it is slightly rushed and requires rewind often"

"it is a book that is guaranteed to challenge your thinking or at the very least make you relook at existing assumptions"

"a life where death was a daily possibility and the only food dome watery soup"

"this is a must read book for anyone suffering from extreme despair loss bereavement torture emotional deprivation childhood abuse and the privations of war natural disaster and the like"

"frankl opens your eyes to a dehumanizing experience and provides an insight into his thoughts and processes that led onto his famous logo therapy"

"the second section a treatise on his own method of treating psychiatric patients ‘logotherapy’ seems an odd addition to the work and somewhat irrelevant to the holocaust theme in a lot of areas but ultimately ties in to the first half quite well if you stick it out"

"the first part is mainly the account of frankl's experience in the camp and the second part was more of an account of the theory behind his logotherapy may get a bit technical for a lay readership and is theoretically quite outdated but still interesting as a historical account of his ideas and the thinking behind his approach"

"great book that does not sound self righteous or drones on about irrelevant information while still putting its message across very well would highly recommend this book it helped me rethink my personal view on some things in life"

"he is clearly mentally resilient and robust to find a way of dealing with the harsh conditions of a slaughter camp called auschwitz without being dehumanised"

"this is a rather thin book"

"i thought it would be a traumatic read overly empathic response too immersed in the emotive horrors"

"as he overcame the trauma he’d seen and experienced so i use my much smaller traumatic experience to push me on to greater better things"

"his book chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes how he used his psychiatry psychotherapy skills to guide himself and the other holocaust victims to survive their mental suffering in the death camps those who had lost faith in the future their future were doomed"

"the author describes how many just gave up either committing suicide or passively waiting to be beaten to death"

"furthermore after looking into the biography of the author there seems to be some discrepancies between his account of his time in concentration camps and the written records which remain unexplained and this casts doubts over the honesty and aim of this book"

"an insight into a turbulent time"

"i found towards the end of the book it was too much heavy reading and the psyhcology was way over my head so much so it became boring"

"furthermore after looking into the biography of the author there seems to be some discrepancies between his account of his time in concentration camps and the written records which remain unexplained and this casts doubts over the honesty and aim of this book"

"only criticism i would have is that i am not fully convinced the idea of paradoxical intention always works"

"i was hesitant to read this book as i thought the negativity would be overwhelming but as much as it dealt with many negative themes these where countered by the overall positive message"

"don’t expect to find a generic answer to “meaning” as you might expect"

"his book chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes how he used his psychiatry psychotherapy skills to guide himself and the other holocaust victims to survive their mental suffering in the death camps those who had lost faith in the future their future were doomed"

"not as sad as one might think loved the overall message will recommend this to anyone going through a rough time of anyone who has lost their way"

"they let themselves decline and became subject to mental and physical decay eventually losing the will to live"

"the manner of presentation is non exhaustive every page surprisingly is giving a different take on something i thought i know of sufficiency well for a 3d question or at least am familiar with through works of other classics on the subject not necessarily the subject of holocaust but the subject of similar ugly historical events of equivalent scale that also touch on the murder of the soul and 'the what happens after' like experiences described during russian revolution s "

"it was like treading through mud!"

"anecdotally meanings are more likely to count as profound and compelling the more gravely connected with the "tragic triad" of pain guilt and death they are no shortage therefore at auschwitz "

"this means that few things are properly defined that some definitions contradict others and that only a few simple cases of the success of the approach are presented"

"if you ever think you're having a hard time read this book it'll change your mind and attitude forever"

"frankel discovered in the camp that the key to surviving suffering is to find meaning in the suffering and to design for yourself an ultimate goal in life that you focus on to get through the suffering a must read for anyone experiencing ongoing suffering or depression"

""to live is to suffer to survive is to find meaning in the suffering" "he who has a why to live can bear with almost any how" i have witnessed these two quotes in action with so many people who have experienced severe trauma in their lives many from within the military veterans community"

"it makes you realise that your problems today which seem to either rule or ruin your life are so insignificant"

"i have read this book twice and shall read it again"

"a heart breaking journey for but just one man but thousands in their ordeal and uneccesary suffering inflicted by a sick minded and his officers frankl gives meaning to the darkest days a man can fall upon"

"the 2nd part of the book which is less compelling is a summary of logotherapy a tenet of which is that even unavoidable suffering has a certain meaning in life"

"as cliched as it may sound it helped me through my difficulties and it's not like a preachy self help book but written by someone who really has been through significant trauma and come out the other side"

"as he overcame the trauma he’d seen and experienced so i use my much smaller traumatic experience to push me on to greater better things"

"this may perhaps be a little self fulfilling and neurosis may be a product of existential frustration in other words the confounding of one's own quest for meaning through preoccupation with things you don't truly value : frankl cites a senior american diplomat who sought treatment from depression arising from discontent with his working life"

"if you're going through a difficult time it really helps you to see how people deal with struggle and can reframe it"

"at times the author explained in depth and very well the reasons why people seemed to go along with the awful treatment being put on them and effects of being freed"

"it explains how with a purpose for life even if only imaginary can help you overcome the most severe situation"

"impossible to read without disliking the author so abandoned it early on"

"as someone who struggles to get to sleep this is not always possible because you have a 1000 other thoughts going through your head keeping you awake"

"i have a history of depression and anxiety and look towards 'self help' books to inspire my almost daily battle!"

"the style is typical of its time many decades ago the end of the book is concerned less with the recounting of his experiences during the war and more with academic practice focused commentary"

"don't leave it so long"

"just amazed at the resilience that can be drawn upon in times of extreme trauma"

"i was hesitant to read this book as i thought the negativity would be overwhelming but as much as it dealt with many negative themes these where countered by the overall positive message"

"i’ve read many holocaust memoirs & this is the driest most dispassionate by far"

"not a painful holocaust story more a book of hope and a practical guide to an incredibly useful psychology logotherapy "

"frankl's advice was not undergo psychotherapy but to change his job to something he cared more about!"

"i thought it would be a traumatic read overly empathic response too immersed in the emotive horrors"

"i can only feel a sense of relief from my long and arduous task of understanding purpose and meaning in life"

"it is well written with sufficient details not to make it uncomfortable due to the topic dealt with"

"makes me sound a little selfish"

"may these atrocities never happen again"

"the book is not all doom and gloom as the author takes you on a journey of discovery of how positive thinking can change how you feel on the inside which goes on to change your outlook of the outside situation"

"having said that it's not for everyone"

"impossible to read without disliking the author so abandoned it early on"

"a good read though not pleasant stuff"

"a validation as i said above of a deep seated confusion in my and many other's lives i suspect mainly how to thrive or even be recognised as legitimate in a society that values measurable achievement and very little else"

"could not put it down"

"his book chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes how he used his psychiatry psychotherapy skills to guide himself and the other holocaust victims to survive their mental suffering in the death camps those who had lost faith in the future their future were doomed"

"this book by victor frankl is one of the most important books ever written coming out of his concentration camp expereince in the war he has been able to distill the very essence of human behaviour and existence in a way that is as relevant now as it was then"

"very disappointing"

"the manner of presentation is non exhaustive every page surprisingly is giving a different take on something i thought i know of sufficiency well for a 3d question or at least am familiar with through works of other classics on the subject not necessarily the subject of holocaust but the subject of similar ugly historical events of equivalent scale that also touch on the murder of the soul and 'the what happens after' like experiences described during russian revolution s "

"for anyway struggling with life on life's terms there is always meaning to get through your struggles for "

"the second part about logotherapy was utterly dull & unclear despite me having studied many schools of psychotherapy in my training "

"this testimonial of the holocaust is well written engaging and helps you empathise with the position of all the people who were tortured and killed in concentration camps during wwii like no other has done before"

"this was my first book in this area and find it could not stop reading it"

"may these atrocities never happen again"

"a heart breaking journey for but just one man but thousands in their ordeal and uneccesary suffering inflicted by a sick minded and his officers frankl gives meaning to the darkest days a man can fall upon"

"for anyway struggling with life on life's terms there is always meaning to get through your struggles for "

"the setting of the holocaust gives the book and the author huge credibility"

"being written from a holocaust survivor frankl's guilt and tales of survival give a truly unique perspective on a tragedy that left me with feelings i never thought could be there"

"reading it makes you feel humble at the way we today complain about the small things in life which don't really matter"

"the book is in two parts the first part details his time in concentration camps not from the horrific side of the camp but more his mental ability to endure the harsh unremitting life in them and that of others"

"there is no reference to ethics"

"i did not like the book not what i expected"

"the manner of presentation is non exhaustive every page surprisingly is giving a different take on something i thought i know of sufficiency well for a 3d question or at least am familiar with through works of other classics on the subject not necessarily the subject of holocaust but the subject of similar ugly historical events of equivalent scale that also touch on the murder of the soul and 'the what happens after' like experiences described during russian revolution s "

"dr frankel was a neurologist brain surgeon and psychiatrist of jewish ethnicity and survivor of the wwii holocaust"

"interesting analysis of humans and how we deal with difficult and major life events"

"now in modern times people with all the benefits and material comforts of affluence succumb to despair and depression"

"its a tale of mans inhumanity to man and the horrors of being a victim in a concentration camp during the second world war"

"brilliant book and provides a road map for recovery for truly difficult times"

"i knew that this book would be affecting and impactful but i hadn’t actually realised how"

"the book is in two parts the first part details his time in concentration camps not from the horrific side of the camp but more his mental ability to endure the harsh unremitting life in them and that of others"

"it has made me realise i had little to complain about and that logo therapy was perfect"

"it has the subheader 'the classic tribute of hope from the holocaust' however this is not just a holocaust survivor book"

"he reluctantly agreed to write a script which as we know became this book"

"it has the subheader 'the classic tribute of hope from the holocaust' however this is not just a holocaust survivor book"

"i've also felt my anger escalate to a very uncomfortable level"

"what a dreadful waste of tax payers money and loss to the nhs when such a caring and conscientious doctor is forced to leave the profession because he cannot face the lack of sleep the ridiculous demands the job makes on his physical and mental health his home life"

"a complete waste of time and money!"

"i would recommend buying do no harm by the neurosurgeon henry marsh instead of this utter tripe"

"i was so disappointed total waste of money"

"it was a huge disappointment badly written poor editing poor content a miserable little book"

"what i didn’t like it was it sometimes demeans the patients pregnant women and having gone through two difficult births i found a man being glib about women’s health pain quite annoying"

"the ruthless exploitation and abuse of medical staff is a total disgrace for which lying greedy politicians of all political parties are to blame"

"could not be posted to amazon i'm very disappointed you have haven chosen not to allow my feed back i feel this is because the of my negativity which is the honest way i've been treated but 0n this occasion honesty is obviously not your best policy !"

"despite that though kay's descriptions had me laughing out loud and whilst i initially found it really irritating having to refer to the footnotes you'll see what i mean these were often the best parts of the book"

"soooo unfunny it's unbelievable"

"absolutely awful"

"so i'd recommend it as a good read but only if read with caution"

"i find the language he uses unnecessarily crude and lazy"

"this book is a true account of how medical professionals are under valued un loved and treated with disrespect by a small minority of society and the catastrophic effect such attitudes have upon these human beings"

"contrived forced humour sad uninteresting antidotes of life as a junior dr"

"i actually found parts of the book quite depressing if i’m honest and some issues made me feel angry especially the injustice of what the author had to endure not just with some difficult and or dumb patients but worse with how he was often taken advantage of by the medical system with the long hours etc"

"the huge amount of explanations also makes for difficult reading of the diary entries having to break off to read the notes"

"this book shows in shocking technicolour the depth of the water junior doctors are thrown into with very little in the way of lifesaving equipment and kay managed to alter the mood deftly in his recounting of events that led to his decision to leave the profession"

"i'm not sure whether that would have had legs for a dinner table moment for him or whether he just thought i was an actual moron"

"it's quite archaic but the nhs has outgrown itself with more high risk cases such as morbid obesity smokers and cases that are pregnant due to advancing technology therefore requiring high input without staffing that goes with these cases"

"nor do i think it's misogynistic just locker room talk which if you sit primly outside as a third party you could get on a hi horse and criticise but in the heat of the day to day is rather insignificant"

"you might think it exaggerated or farfetched but you'd be wrong"

"it's a wonder there aren't more accidents given the horrendous hours they work!"

"lots of unnecessary bad language that had never been mentioned in the reviews did nothing for the book"

"this book clearly shows the overwhelming job doctors have in hospitals portrayed with humour frustration anger and sadness"

"quite a few negative reviewers accuse him of poor crude language"

"but even so seeing it written down in all its awful sleep deprived reality was still shocking"

"i enjoy reading books about life in medicine there’s been several of them recently henry marsh’s excellent books being amongst some that i have read and it’s good that the disclosures in these books about allopathic medicine are there for all to read: plus it seems cathartic for the authors to write about their experiences in medicine some of which are extremely distressing medical cases for which they get no debriefing or counselling and others about how stupid the nhs can be with how its managed"

"the book itself is boring and repetitive"

"it also brings home the huge stretch put on the nhs by absolute idiots who have self inflicted stupid injuries on themselves but who are still seen and treated"

"no idea why the hype about this book unfunny and bland"

"i would like to use one of his expletives myself in this review but fear it would mean a disqualification which is actually what the bma should do with this incompetent"

"drs aren't expected to go off sick get time back owed and expected to just keep on until finishing their job on shift"

"i found it cynical occasionally bordering on misogynist in his horrible descriptions of women and their bodily parts when they are at their most vulnerable gynae detail in the book but perhaps not for a review but describing a womans vagina as a 'tw*t' is one such example "

"the part where adam says the beds were taken away from on call rooms so doctors can’t be seen sleeping on the job made my blood boil!"

"i veered off into general practice and lasted a little longer than he did however in the end successive governments' total lack of anything remotely helpful or supportive finished off my career just the same and with an incredibly heavy heart i threw in the towel in my early 40's"

"i mean why should i be wanting to read about some pathetic person who was never cut out to be a doctor in the first place?"

"i was thoroughly enjoying this book until around the 65% mark on my kindle when his anecdotes started to become a bit boring and repetitive and his tone ever so slightly ‘cocky’"

"i mean what a total idiot"

"dr kay describes a descent into burn out and it is to his credit that he has the courage to get out of the profession when he is unable to laugh anymore rather than to continue to struggle like hundreds of other doctors do ultimatley damaging themselves their family their relationships and their patients"

"too empathetic to the taxing nature of the life and work of a hospital doctor’s incredibly demanding and merciless daily life and the cruel toll it takes"

"after pouring hard decades of your life into the nhs you can enjoy a salary that is nearly as high as what a 26 year old city lawyer or accountant gets and cut back your unpaid overtime to just a couple of hours a day with sunday afternoons for the paperwork"

"a lot of the stories are blatant falsehoods or ripped off from other medical 'diaries"

"some of the stories did have me laughing but the overall impression it leaves is a doctor working hard long hours a job he takes great pride in but in difficult conditions at the limits of his knowledge and strength"

"this book even raised laughs on a very difficult day"

"as funny as this book is the final section will give you a big dose of reality as life as an a+e doctor and bring you back down to earth where the nhs is getting screwed over"

"the fact that it was non fiction made the humour seem tasteless these are real people kaye is writing about and the thought that relatives of his patients could be reading about their vulnerable relatives made me as a health professional myself distinctly uncomfortable"

"he comes across as arrogant uncaring misogynistic with a god complex"

"it should be read by each politician selected to be sos for health although i imagine they would simply pass it to their grossly overpaid advisor for a one paragraph brief"

"i know junior doctors work incredibly hard long thankless hours with little pay to start with and i am so grateful to them i am a qualified nurse so know a little about the workings of hospitals "

"disrespectful inaccurate and offensive"

"plenty of filthy condescending disrespectful songs about patients there too"

"kay does however fill the reader with the impending doom of his rather arbitarily chosen career"

"those young doctors deserve a footballers wage and free housing accommodation!"

"i enjoy reading books about life in medicine there’s been several of them recently henry marsh’s excellent books being amongst some that i have read and it’s good that the disclosures in these books about allopathic medicine are there for all to read: plus it seems cathartic for the authors to write about their experiences in medicine some of which are extremely distressing medical cases for which they get no debriefing or counselling and others about how stupid the nhs can be with how its managed"

"sometimes they’ll say nothing sometimes they might moan sometimes they might cry"

"the situation is now desperately and in many cases life threatening deplorable"

"he describes passing through the grades of sho registrar and senior registrar none of which existed much after the millenium the sr grade having been abolished with disastrous effects by the then cmo calman"

"one was found in bushes beside the car park sound asleep worryingly he had been driving for 30 minutes before getting out of his car and simply sat down and fell asleep"

"the saddest part is how they are treated by other more senior doctors and the management"

"the ruthless exploitation and abuse of medical staff is a total disgrace for which lying greedy politicians of all political parties are to blame"

"it irritated me right from the beginning with its foul language and derogatory tone"

"awful book smattered with totally unnecessary bad language if supposedly written by an intelligent educated person who moans all the time about a profession for which he is obviously unsuited for"

"what a dreadful waste of tax payers money and loss to the nhs when such a caring and conscientious doctor is forced to leave the profession because he cannot face the lack of sleep the ridiculous demands the job makes on his physical and mental health his home life"

"but after reading this book i realise what an insult and slap in the face that comment really was"

"i am not a prude but it was early into the narrative that i found the tone of the book dismissive misogynistic and overall lacking in empathy"

"dr kay is a nasty piece of work"

"the end game a medicosurgical disaster something which doctors at the pointy end of healthcare will experience on a regular basis cruelly knocked him down"

"the prostitute who inserted a child's sponge vaginally to sop up menstrual blood the rich seam of finding humour in the category 'patients who put stupid things into their orifices' has been rather over mined in this book to be honest which has 'been schnitzeled flat by her clients' pummellings over the past three months' nice empathy there doctor"

"you were too hard on yourself but i understand completely"

"i’m glad others in the review section have also come to a disappointing conclusion about this book"

"sections are ‘read out loud to the nearest person’ hilarious the last section is so unrelentingly tragic it quite literally sent me into a full on panic attack"

"but above all it made me very very angry!"

"this is one of the funniest saddest books i've read in a long time drama pathos whatever that means tears and laughter"

"also illuminating and very shocking"

"i work in the public sector and understand that you need to be flexible but the thought that we’re putting junior staff under such stress is very unpalatable"

"on many occasion during the book adam points to “stupidity” his own too negligence ignorance ineptitude and fallibility"

"the last bit is perhaps the most important highlighting the bad distribution of nhs funds with the higher echelons being paid the most for doing the least whilst the staff on the ground working ridiculous hours and being paid such a low wage suffer most and as highlighted in this book eventually throw in the towel and leave"

"so much so that if i’m ever taken to a+e for a life threatening emergency i’d tell my doctor to finish their coffee first"

"the book was very badly written boring in the extreme and not at all funny"

"in the nhs in some situations a gallows humour has to be adopted and i am sure it is the same for all the emergency services"

"definitely gives you a better understanding of the ridiculous hours and unfair responsibility the junior doctors are subject to"

"the book does not hold back on any of the difficulties you need to overcome on a day to day basis or the massive drain it has on your own life and instead of painting a picture of doctors as being beyond human it gives a more realistic view"

"the nhs relies on the goodwill of its staff working past their time usually writing up notes or incident forms that you haven’t had time to do during your shift or swapping their shift due to staff shortages at the last minute relies on them building their own support network instead of giving them the right support to deal with traumatic events that are all too common in the job but no amount of training will ever prepare you for working through their breaks “because the ward is too busy”"

"the 6 month all change rule also makes a complete mockery of the info i am given"

"spoiler alert: the ending is not what you might expect"

"what this has also done is make me even more proud of the nhs and its amazing staff and made me even more irritated by the inability of our government to see that and their inability to fix stuff such as failing systems"

"it irritated me right from the beginning with its foul language and derogatory tone"

"it paints a rather depressing picture of life as a doctor in an inefficient and stretched system"

"also known for his song parodies he was the entertainment at prince harry's 30th birthday adam's decision to leave medicine and go into entertainment full time is explained here and it's a very sad story"

"how they cope with the dangerously long hours on duty and often with huge responsibility prematurely on their shoulders is an eye opener"

"they can be confessional and moving and frequently highlight the crumbling structure of the nhs and the failure of politicians to appreciate the effect of policies they enact"

"i am in awe but equally so angry about the way the national health service is funded run politicised putting not only patients’ lives at risk but the terrible toll it has on the medical profession"

"no only is it eye opening into the life or lack of of our junior doctors and the often ridiculous situations they face it will also make you realise without a doubt that the wellbeing of our healthcare providers is worth fighting for"

"an example that haunted me was that if a baby has died in the womb the mother is still obliged to deliver it in a normal labour ward surrounded by mothers giving birth to healthy living babies how insensitive is that?"

"ever been a duty solicitor in crime and had to spend all night in the cells and be paid a lousy wage"

"read this book and then look yourself in the mirror before nagging the doctor for an unnecessary antibiotic or sticking something not designed for the purpose inside yourself!"

"i'm always very sceptical of books and reviewers that claim a book is 'laugh out loud' funny and probably would have been more swayed by the negative reviews had i not decided to read the first few pages before buying"

"at first i was somewhat irritated by the appearance of forced humour but this quickly gave place to enormous respect and sympathy"

"i wish a little more time had been spent on expanding the entries mainly because their brevity sometimes makes the author seem brash when i don't think it is the case"

"mixed feelings but overall i didn't enjoy it as much as i'd hoped"

"the nhs simply does not look after it's staff and like the doctor in the book both he and i and many other staff have left exhausted and frustrated that we never had sufficient staff the management who know very little about medical matters are running the nhs and telling medical staff how to do their jobs!"

"having experienced our health service quite extensively as a father to a very poorly child this could be seen as a very worrying portrayal of the system you rely on however reading this retrospectively when the dark tunnel of constant fear and worry is behind you it really is quite cathartic"

"to be fair he seems fairly misanthropic generally but i can't help thinking that if you view women as silly vapid and a collection of icky body parts that's not going to make you a wonderful practitioner"

"well written extremely frank description of one young doctors journey to becoming a consultant the long hours the unexpected objects inserted in surprising places the cost to his health physical and mental the kindness the missed sleep the missed parties and the ones he'd wished he'd missed"

"he is rude arrogant condescending hates his job moans about his pay his patients his colleagues etc etc etc"

"" as distressing as infertility clearly is it is hardly the same as a life threatening cancer"

"it also brings home the huge stretch put on the nhs by absolute idiots who have self inflicted stupid injuries on themselves but who are still seen and treated"

"the nhs is on its knees and those in power need a damned wake up call it would do them good to roll their sleeves up and actually work on the wards theatres corridors all areas beside the hard working staff from the lowest paid to highest to see what real hard working people have to cope with on a day to day basis"

"the minister in charge must be aware of this but have a callous disregard for the suffering"

"now jeremy hunt’s inadequacy has been somersaulted by further political manoeuvring brexit & the impending privatisation of this marvellous institution"

"the fault lies with the legions of politicians who have lied and bullied anyone who has tried to highlight the bungling inefficiencies and refusal to accept the need for the health service to be properly funded"

"the main problem i had was the short written record of events and i was left wondering if i was reading a comedy script or a account of life in the nhs"

"i'm afraid i didn't like the author's style and in this instance felt that i wasted my money"

"the human condition in extremis is not to be treated flippantly"

"pointless remarks?"

"billions of our tax money are thrown annually at the service"

"whilst there is a is an overwhelming focus on female medical issues due to the author’s career path this is more than compensated by anecdotes about degloving and the dubious use of candles and fans by foolish males"

"sadly the long working hours and overworked staff continue to cause problems and there doesn't appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel"

"they survive on practically no sleep they never get cover and they have to know every inch of every medical condition they might encounter"

"some of the stories did have me laughing but the overall impression it leaves is a doctor working hard long hours a job he takes great pride in but in difficult conditions at the limits of his knowledge and strength"

"of course this is a book about sick people not just the stupidly injured so there are some moments there where you realise how fragile a human life can be and exactly what the mind and body is or is not capable of"

"for anyone like me who has spent hours and days in a&e or sundry hospital wards it is impossible not to be moved by the excessive demands placed upon our medics at all levels"

"they can be confessional and moving and frequently highlight the crumbling structure of the nhs and the failure of politicians to appreciate the effect of policies they enact"

"from cringe worthy blunt to hurtful honesty"

"not a book just a list of nasty experiences and some awful medical definitions"

"what i didn’t like it was it sometimes demeans the patients pregnant women and having gone through two difficult births i found a man being glib about women’s health pain quite annoying"

"not the reality of ridiculously long hours etc"

"this book reports through six years of “private” diaries the course of adam kay’s career from medical student to senior registrar and the reasons for his ultimate resignation from the national health service"

"eventually the pressure is too much and sadly he resigns from the nhs as a retired doctor i was really able to relate to his struggles and the sense of relentless pressure from the job often without time to eat or do anything else and i think things are worse now than when i was in practice"

"of course this is a book about sick people not just the stupidly injured so there are some moments there where you realise how fragile a human life can be and exactly what the mind and body is or is not capable of"

"sounds like he went into medicine for the wrong reasons and learned the hard way"

"don’t be put off by the intrusion of gallows humour i think most of us needed it as a form of mental insurance!"

"lots of cliche over indulgent self pity"

"you cry through laughter and the cold realisation of the abhorrence of doing the most important job in civilisation as an underrested underpaid under appreciated servent of society"

"the guy illustrates himself as a relentless saviour throughout every page of the book with his stories of self sacrifice and dedication to life but then makes fun of someone for grieving their dog"

"a mockery of the misconceptions of medicine a giggle at some of the silly things people do and say an account of many objects rammed into suspicious places and a personal insight into the experiences of one junior doctor"

"i am a doctor and bought this having seen his show advertised at the edinburgh fringe then being unable to get tickets"

"i fled the nhs 18 years ago and even then it was overstretched and creaking friends tell me how much worse it is now which is heartbreaking to hear"

"i hope the "lay person" can gain a better understanding of the stress of the medical staff before their numerous complaints about front line staff as managers in their offices have no idea of what really matters on the "shop floor" was disappointed when i finished the book a hard act to follow adam kay!"

"there are a few sections where the more squeamish might find it a difficult read"

"it is hardly surprising that this book has been a bestseller in the uk given its warts & all account of life working as a junior doctor in the nhs"

"is the third poorest performer compared to the 18 developed countries on the overall rate at which people die when successful medical care could have saved their lives" 3 "it has consistently higher rates of death for babies at birth or just after perinatal mortality and in the month after birth" it is sad to say but for a number of serious conditions you are less likely to survive when treated by the nhs than if you were treated by an "average" health care system"

"what a shame adam felt he had to stop being a doctor but totally understandable"

"the is the most bitter sweet book i have ever read and if i was prime minister it would be law that everyone reads it"

"my major sadness is that the pressures proved too much for adam he isn’t the only one"

"interestingly in it highlights how hard doctors work also v funny in places asia basically anecdotes about former patients"

"i've shed tears of both laughter and sadness reading this book"

"having been a junior doctor myself i completely identified with all his difficulties exhaustion and emotional commitment and dedication"

"and to the obvious detriment to any personal relationships or families?"

"am not in a medically related field however this book was really insightful as to what it must be like to be a medic and the really difficult decisions medics need to make day to day"

"still other reviewers have taken him to task for his potty mouth and crass humour"

"doctors teachers and so many public service professionals are leaving their "vocations" and this little book gives us an insight into why and why as a nation we should try to arrest the decline"

"a very good book marred by unwarranted low life expletives"

"dr kay with his book has broken this taboo"

"it was a huge disappointment badly written poor editing poor content a miserable little book"

"the writer is simply but tragically burnt out by the extremes of his workload & the book has a very poignant message about the unrealistic demands we place on our hospital doctors"

"this was a book club choice for me as this is womens problems!"

"frighten her to death !"

"i felt quite angry after reading this as it clearly shows the disregard the government has for our medical profession"

"lots of cliche over indulgent self pity"

"however comments like ‘the midwife will run along and do the bloods’ and his endless comments about the stupidity of his colleagues nurses and patients was simply unnecessary"

"i have been the impatient nurse paging an already overstretched junior doctor to come and review a patient prescribe more pain relief or fluids check gent or vanc levels or write a discharge letter as the patient is standing in front of me dressed holding their packed belongings with their angry relative who has come to collect them"

"luckily i do not suffer any pain"

"style lacunae: gaps in the text that does not deal with an important issue and is therefore not effective or convincing "

"but even so seeing it written down in all its awful sleep deprived reality was still shocking"

"if it wasn't for how hard some doctors and nurses work beyond their official working hours the nh s would be in a poorer state then it is now"

"you bang your head against a brick wall trying to get the government to understand i am in education"

"the last bit is perhaps the most important highlighting the bad distribution of nhs funds with the higher echelons being paid the most for doing the least whilst the staff on the ground working ridiculous hours and being paid such a low wage suffer most and as highlighted in this book eventually throw in the towel and leave"

"as a nurse with over forty years experience in neonatal care i was hooked into this book by the 4 star reviews"

"what i didn’t like it was it sometimes demeans the patients pregnant women and having gone through two difficult births i found a man being glib about women’s health pain quite annoying"

"as a fan of amateur transplants and their work as a band i already had a predisposition to enjoy adam kay's work and the book never failed me"

"also why condoms should have a picture warning on the packet"

"the author dr adam kay worked principally in the obstetrics & gynaecology depts of various hospitals & writes of constantly having to deal with one life threatening crisis after another of over long shifts often having to be extended by yet another crisis 10 minutes before he is due to clock off & of the constant constant need for sleep"

"also i wasn’t sure some of the diary entries particularly those which weren’t about work were really true eg the stag do "

"it made me feel guilty about complaining about how hard i work in my flexible part time work that stretches to almost full time and sometimes 7 days a week"

"no only is it eye opening into the life or lack of of our junior doctors and the often ridiculous situations they face it will also make you realise without a doubt that the wellbeing of our healthcare providers is worth fighting for"

"there is an underlying message that the nhs is itself suffering from too much pressure on essential doctors and nurses"

"should read this book and maybe just maybe our wonderful nhs and medical staff would get the funding they deserve"

"examples of the stress experienced by so called “junior doctors” working often unsupported and having to deal with multiple emergencies often at the expense of their personal commitments"

"if anyone is slightly squeamish about that area you might want to give the book a miss"

"if you don't laugh like a drain reading this then your name is probably jeremy hunt"

"there was an underlying tone that i didn't enjoy"

"i synpathise with adam kay and how hard he worked etc etc but the way he tried to put his point across was completely ruined each time because rather than write properly with descriptive adjectives he repeatedly used swear words"

"it must be aweful to be accused of a mistake knowing full well that you were so tired and could hardly stand when this unfortunate error occurred i think in this man's case it was when through a mishap in communication a baby died and very nearly the mother"

"hearing the hype surrounding this book i was very skeptical i was concerned that a dr had turned patients worst moments in to humour to sell a book"

"also if you don't like the use of the "f" word in this book probably not for you and also probably not one to buy your aged aunt unless you want to"

"the contempt for women who ask questions or want options clearly explained to them"

"i was that disaster"

"unless something is done about it there will be no nhs with cheap doctor slavery but i guess this is what the main aim is from the powers that be"

"an nhs already stretched to the limits in terms of staffing will only get worse if we cant support the staff we have"

"what this has also done is make me even more proud of the nhs and its amazing staff and made me even more irritated by the inability of our government to see that and their inability to fix stuff such as failing systems"

"what a dreadful waste of tax payers money and loss to the nhs when such a caring and conscientious doctor is forced to leave the profession because he cannot face the lack of sleep the ridiculous demands the job makes on his physical and mental health his home life"

"i like the unrelenting attachment to the profession and healthy disrespect for ruling politicians and most of all the glimpse into the life of a specialist doctor"

"it's hard to write funny it's hard to write compelling it's hard to write heart breaking unless that is you're adam kay in which case you can apparently just bash out all three while you're working as a doctor"

"dr kay describes a descent into burn out and it is to his credit that he has the courage to get out of the profession when he is unable to laugh anymore rather than to continue to struggle like hundreds of other doctors do ultimatley damaging themselves their family their relationships and their patients"

"this must be an unimaginably traumatic experience for a caring doctor"

"quite a few negative reviewers accuse him of poor crude language"

"my opinion is it’s rubbish"

"waste of time"

"firstly this book should come with a health warning: do not start reading this late at night unless you don't need sleep and secondly if you do read it in bed ensure you are alone as you may end up in hospital when your partner threatens to shove your kindle up your rectum because your constant laughing and snorting is keeping him awake but thankfully having read up all about pr's i felt confident that the junior doctors would be able to remove it if necessary"

"i'm always very sceptical of books and reviewers that claim a book is 'laugh out loud' funny and probably would have been more swayed by the negative reviews had i not decided to read the first few pages before buying"

"sometimes they’ll say nothing sometimes they might moan sometimes they might cry"

"was looking for humour but a bit of a let down for my taste"

"i had very mixed views about this book"

"it was moan moan moan"

"on a more serious note the reality of being a junior dr and the long hours is quite shocking"

"starts off very funny indeed but soon turns into an endless list of boring and repetitive stories about the gynaecology ward"

"i know there is a shortage of both nurses and doctors but my personal opinion is that there is too much hierachy involved in the nhs"

"this book just isn't funny at all and there's too much swearing i it"

"the two parts which will stay with me forever is the description of the lost swab incident yes we do crawl around the floor and delve into the ‘bran tub of doom’ on such an occurrence and the reason for being late out from work almost every single shift"

"it must be aweful to be accused of a mistake knowing full well that you were so tired and could hardly stand when this unfortunate error occurred i think in this man's case it was when through a mishap in communication a baby died and very nearly the mother"

"as a retired member of the medical profession a junior doctor as he was then relies heavily on the nursing staff to keep them right in many aspects of patient care and senior consultants preferences on procedures"

"i am sorry he was unable to carry on"

"i'm a doctor and been through all the same stuff and i must say he sounds quite melodramatic and over the top"

"it doesn't shy away from how negligent quick fixes or plain old accidents might come about i'm not sure i'd have a steady hand after no food or sleep for one day least of all two with a never ending bleep and no rest in sight"

"kay does however fill the reader with the impending doom of his rather arbitarily chosen career"

"the real tragedy is that he's unlikely to be the last"

"working insane hours they are expected to make life or death decisions and be able to function on a level that requires total concentration and commitment"

"i read it really quickly probably won't ever read it again and i've forgotten most of it"

"on the whole though it's a cover to cover whinge about how tough life is as a junior doctor i am sure much the same could be said of junior teachers or junior most things even junior lawyers and how badly the nhs operates again i am sure much the same could be said of most institutionalised professions and maybe this needed to be said by someone to get the attention the nhs needs but kay doesn't offer any solutions or practical advice and it certainly doesn't explain the extraordinary sales figures"

"but it doesn’t stop there once one becomes a consultant the desperation desolation irritation and sometimes rage re appear at regular intervals"

"is the third poorest performer compared to the 18 developed countries on the overall rate at which people die when successful medical care could have saved their lives" 3 "it has consistently higher rates of death for babies at birth or just after perinatal mortality and in the month after birth" it is sad to say but for a number of serious conditions you are less likely to survive when treated by the nhs than if you were treated by an "average" health care system"

"it's probably worth noting that a large part of the book focuses on gynaecology and obstetrics so i imagine it might be too emotionally heavy in parts for people who've had difficulty in either area as a patient"

"there is a political element to this book and given the recent issues that the nhs faces it would have been wrong to ignore these aspects"

"also the level of pastoral care for junior doctors seemed to be totally non existent one hopes that it has changed since the diaries were written but somehow i sadly doubt it"

"he was clearly never cut out to be a doctor he hated every minute of it and is no great loss to medicine"

"i don’t usually read anything remotely to do with human services as i work in them but i happened on this one after a recommendation"

"he's perhaps lucky he chose obstetrics because we can imagine those in a&e or say cardiology face this awful reality far more frequently than an obstetrician"

"having experienced our health service quite extensively as a father to a very poorly child this could be seen as a very worrying portrayal of the system you rely on however reading this retrospectively when the dark tunnel of constant fear and worry is behind you it really is quite cathartic"

"the time framework of the book doesn't ring true"

"i found it cynical occasionally bordering on misogynist in his horrible descriptions of women and their bodily parts when they are at their most vulnerable gynae detail in the book but perhaps not for a review but describing a womans vagina as a 'tw*t' is one such example "

"but do not do what i did and read it while on the bus going to and from work on the way in i was laughing so hard people were giving me funny looks while on the journey home i was an emotional mess after having something in my eye for 20mins *a complete lie"

"this book makes compulsive reading as we follow the ups and downs of adam kay from a medical student to an over worked senior registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology"

"whether you're an occasional visitor to hospitals or there far too often you will enjoy it"

"yes there are tragic times"

"having experienced our health service quite extensively as a father to a very poorly child this could be seen as a very worrying portrayal of the system you rely on however reading this retrospectively when the dark tunnel of constant fear and worry is behind you it really is quite cathartic"

"nor do i think it's misogynistic just locker room talk which if you sit primly outside as a third party you could get on a hi horse and criticise but in the heat of the day to day is rather insignificant"

"yes i know the budget is tight but something has to give and sadly it is the patients and those working the frontline that suffer the most"

"some hard hitting and sad stories that will show people what it is really like working in hospital"

"there are definitely a few ‘ouch’ moments and the frequent talk of bodily fluids all the things that can go wrong with the human body and things that people do to themselves for pleasure or vanity might not be for the faint hearted!"

"people who are offended by what he's written need to chill or come up with a alternative to dark humour that helps medical professionals retain their sanity"

"mine certainly is not i became really bored at 25% so abandoned the rest"

"thank god he has left and the way it has been written😫😫😫 quite frankly i am astounded this boring and offensive excause for a book was written by a person of allegedly high intelligence"

"managed to plough my way through 20% before giving up in frustration"

"other reviews have taken a rather less sympathetic approach that his book is essentially a 280 page whineathon"

"other passengers may notice when you get to the bits about human stupidity"

"it's quite archaic but the nhs has outgrown itself with more high risk cases such as morbid obesity smokers and cases that are pregnant due to advancing technology therefore requiring high input without staffing that goes with these cases"

"this is a really funny book but at the same time a very sad reflection of how ridiculously stretched staff at all levels are and how over worked and underpaid they are by the nhs!"

"the unbelievable pressure the people who save lives work under is totally criminal they have no time for a private life no time to relax barely any time to sleep"

"i am a doctor and bought this having seen his show advertised at the edinburgh fringe then being unable to get tickets"

"the lack of public resources and some very sad events"

"having an alternative career as a writer would have helped but the relentlessness of the work so angrily described must have made the decision easier"

"don't get me wrong it's very readable and quite amusing but it got repetitive rather too soon"

"i have also been the nurse on nightshift when things have been the “q” word turning a blind eye as a junior doctor sneaks into the day unit next door for some shut eye because they are exhausted on their 5th night"

"the real tragedy is that he's unlikely to be the last"

"it’s also ugly cry heartbreaking"

"i'm just a little old fashioned where the f word is used so commonly these days everywhere so much that babies will be bungie jumping out of the womb screams 'f who turned the light on'"

"i won’t spoil anything but that part is where your laughter tears change to sad tears"

"his dry sardonic wit literally had me crying with laughter his sarcasm and self depreciating humour and observational comedy was pure gold"

"it left me even more concerned about the nhs and how it’s going to cope with the baby boomers generation growing old"

"an example that haunted me was that if a baby has died in the womb the mother is still obliged to deliver it in a normal labour ward surrounded by mothers giving birth to healthy living babies how insensitive is that?"

"how wrong could i be"

"contrary to their views that the author was arrogant and rude and didn’t care about his patients adam struck me as a great dedicated doctor"

"to be fair he seems fairly misanthropic generally but i can't help thinking that if you view women as silly vapid and a collection of icky body parts that's not going to make you a wonderful practitioner"

"this doctor came across as arrogant and conceited"

"i don't want to get too much into the political side of it as i'd probably write enough to make my own book but a huge change needs to happen and asap before an already dying nhs finally gives up the ghost completely"

"however they did not effectively address the bullying boasting intimidation lack of consideration and nastiness they had to endure because of the consequences to their career"

"what doctors have to deal with on very little sleep the huge responsibilities they have and the decisions they have to make are shocking"

"despite this the brevity does also help in conveying the rush and chaos of the job and how little time there really is to care or show you care as the next emergency beckons tiredness overcomes you and numbs you"

"from the report: 1 "the uk’s nhs performs worse than the average in the treatment of eight out of the 12 most common causes of death" 2 ""

"but this really brings it home in all its falling asleep at the traffic lights brutal reality"

"i agree with most comments that the book is very funny but we should not forget the roots of a bad medical system that allows individual or a group of individuals to fail to apply knowledge if any correctly"

"uproariously funny for the most part but tinged with the frustration that medical staff in the nhs are fighting an uphill and possibly a losing battle in terms of patient satisfaction due to inadequate funds and trained personnel"

"their training is an ongoing baptism by fire during which sadly more and more doctors are moving abroad to countries where they are properly valued properly paid and never asked to work continuously for close to 100 hours"

"we are losing wonderful doctors like this from the profession due to the unbearable intolerable pressure they are put under"

"very accessible for non medics kay provides footnotes to explain procedures and medical jargon throughout the book which can be a bit irritating at times but are also funny in their own right"

"read it in oct 2019 when the whole stupid time and money wasting saga of brexit was in full cry"

"the short sections on cancer are particularly tough"

"life seems to be a tsunami of problems accompanied by sheer exhaustion"

"contrary to their views that the author was arrogant and rude and didn’t care about his patients adam struck me as a great dedicated doctor"

"we should support these doctors more"

"it must be aweful to be accused of a mistake knowing full well that you were so tired and could hardly stand when this unfortunate error occurred i think in this man's case it was when through a mishap in communication a baby died and very nearly the mother"

"it was a huge disappointment badly written poor editing poor content a miserable little book"