Media Reviews
Outstanding... What marks it out is not the scale or urgency of the trauma, although I read the first chapters at such a pace that I almost had to remind myself to breathe. It is the writing. It sparks and crackles with a dark energy... The writing is not just intense, but intelligent... In Shock stands above other patient memoirs. -- James McConnachie * The Sunday Times *
Tense, powerful and gripping... her writing style is often nothing short of beautiful - evocative and emotional. -- Adam Kay * The Observer *
In Shock is both an enthralling page-turner and a haunting call to arms for the medical profession to practice with greater kindness, compassion and humility. Awdish captures beautifully how and why doctors, against our best selves, can lose sight of our patients in furious pursuit of the diagnosis, the save, the cure. Anyone - doctor or otherwise - whose life has been touched by illness will be transfixed by this deeply moving tale of catastrophic illness and everything it teaches us. -- Rachel Clarke, author of Your Life in My Hands: A Junior Doctor's Story
Awdish looks at the way we practice medicine with a combination of love and outrage. She writes beautifully about the secret, shameful feelings many doctors feel they have to hide and she shows us how we might do better. After reading this book, I feel like a different doctor. -- Gabriel Weston, author of Direct Red: A Surgeon's Story
A brave, powerful memoir about what it is like to be both a doctor and a patient... There is a widsom that literally comes from suffering. * The Times *
There are few recent books to compare it to. Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air, another physician's account of illness, ended with his death. Awdish lives to tell the tale, but her cascade of medical problems is appallingly severe. Like [Adam] Kay's, her writing is motivated by trauma, both her own and that of her medical colleagues...The dramatic story of her illness and recovery alone would make the book compelling, but in the growing genre of medical non-fiction, it is her reflections on medical practice that really stand out. -- Dr Alexander Van Tulleken * TLS *
Urgent and supremely eloquent... In Shock is a book to set alongside the likes of Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, Direct Red by Gabriel Weston and, of course, Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air. -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller *
Compelling and insightful, this story of what a doctor learns through coming close to death is packed with both action and reflection. * Cathy Rentzenbrink, bestselling author of The Last Act of Love *
Harrowing and enlightening... This is a story of darkness and light, horror and hope. It's not an easy read, but it is a fascinating one, and highly recommended. * The Sunday Business Post *
An extraordinary memoir. * Daily Mail *
Had me hooked right from the start. Incredible story, and even more incredible story-telling... has had an unexpected impact on me and will change the way I practice medicine from here on. * Dr Ranj Singh *
A compassionate and critical look at medicine and illness from both a doctor's and a patient's perspective... Awdish has written a unique and insightful memoir. * Publishers Weekly *
Devastating and life-affirming all at the same time. As a fellow physician and mom, I found myself immersed in In Shock, both by Rana Awdish's description of her heartbreaking losses as well as her triumphs of making it back to life repeatedly, to ultimately tell this story so beautifully. She reminds us all of the critical importance of maintaining our 'human-ness' when we are taking care of the very ill. -- Lynn E. Fiellin, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and the Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
Perhaps the bravest book that I have ever read in its gripping honesty and powerful lessons. An unrivaled view of healthcare as it really is - its triumphs and missteps - through the riveting, nakedly honest story of a physician who became seriously ill ... reads like a page-turning novel. -- Leonard L. Berry, PhD, Regents Professor, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
When Rana Awdish's brief description of her medical experiences was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, one leading health care expert (who did not know Rana) tweeted that everyone who takes care of patients should read it. The same is true for In Shock, her book that describes her medical ordeal and the insights that flowed from it. Her story of her clinical problems and what she experienced as she endured them reads like The Odyssey. The moment toward the end when she takes the stage to describe her experiences for her medical colleagues is nothing less than electrifying. And the insights about the nature of healing with which she concludes her book are an inspiration. -- Tom Lee, Chief Medical Officer for Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
This book is remarkable - should be required reading for every medical caregiver. In Shock is so beautifully written, so full of wisdom about illness, emotional connection and ripe with ideas for improving communication with my patients. I was so moved by Dr Awdish's courage, resilience and passion to improve medical practice. -- Jeffrey Millstein, MD, Penn Medicine
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