“Critical” by Dr Matt Morgan

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a fascinating insight into the daily life of an Intensive Care Doctor. The ups and downs, the hope and tragedy are all captured here.

The book is structured by different areas of the body and the author uses these to relate anecdotes and reflections from his own personal experiences. The history of intensive care provision is also explored to put events into context.

This book really hits home about the fragility of life and the arbitrary nature of survival. Why do some people survive and others don’t despite receiving the same provision of care? Sometimes these questions left me feeling frustrated whilst reading this book.

As with many books written by experts in their field there were parts of this book that descended into unnecessary medical jargon and descriptions of procedures. Never enough to leave me confused but I felt the parts devoted to the human stories were more effective.

Overall, an interesting and thought provoking read that made me reflect on the nature of life and death.