Seven Signs of Life

Seven Signs of Life

Stories from an Intensive Care Doctor

Summary

'Heartfelt, honest, illuminating and wise' Julia Samuel, author of This Too Shall Pass.

Perfect for fans of This Is Going to Hurt.


Grief. Anger. Joy. Fear. Distraction. Disgust. Hope.

All emotions we expect to encounter over our lifetime. But what if this was every day? And what if your ability to manage them was the difference between life and death?

For Aoife Abbey, a doctor in intensive care, these experiences are part of the job - from grief when you make a potentially fatal mistake to joy when the ward unexpectedly breaks into song. Seven Signs of Life is Abbey's extraordinary account of what it means to be alive and how it feels to care for a living.

An insightful, tender and inspiring memoir that explores the reality of life on the NHS front line. 'Brilliant, compelling... A hugely life-affirming book' Mail on Sunday

Reviews

  • A brilliant, compelling account of what it is like to spend your days caring for patients "on the fringe of existence" ... A hugely life-affirming book. In between the many grim situations encountered on a daily basis, Abbey shows us moments of both joy and deep emotional connection
    Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday

About the author

Aoife Abbey

Aoife Abbey grew up in Dublin, Ireland. She completed an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, before graduating in 2011 from medical school at Warwick University. She is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, Fellow of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and council member at the Intensive Care Society UK. From September 2016, Aoife Abbey wrote a blog under the guise of the British Medical Association’s 'Secret Doctor’. This is her first book.
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