My mother sent this book to me a while ago but I just got around to reading it now, and finished it within a few days (you actually do need to put it down here and there otherwise it does become a bit of a run-on story about traumatic births and gory images). Adam Kay finished medical school and started as a junior doctor for the NHS in 2004, working his way up the medical ladder so to speak, specializing in Obstetrics and Genecology. This Is Going to Hurt is a chronological collection of Kay’s diary entries from 2004 to 2010, before he leaves the profession to move to something completely different.

Before you read the book your first thought may be why on earth would he go through all that training, and all those years of working horrendous hours to leave? Well all I can say is read this book and I bet you will understand his choices. Kay provides deep insight into what it means to be a doctor in the NHS, and also what it means to work for years without ever being able to make plans, live somewhere permanent, even have a proper relationship with someone, because most of your life is spent trying to help other people in a hospital. One of my old friends went through this system and ended up an addict, and honestly I can see how easy it would be to go there in this system.

This book is not for the squeamish - Kay goes into detail about everything, including all of the bodily fluids that he gets splattered with on the regular, odors, objects he finds and so on. If you haven’t had kids yet this may scare you a little bit (but remember that most of the uneventful deliveries aren’t even mentioned, only the ones that were hairy, or scary are).

Anyway! I enjoyed reading this! It gives you insight into why doctors may seem cold and rushed at times: it’s because they don’t have a choice really. This book has been made into a TV series and I am really excited to watch it once it ends up on TV here in the US.