Mark Twain wrote: Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress...but I repeat myself.
Category: Memoir
Average Rating: 3.0
A former paramedic's visceral, poignant, and mordantly funny account of a decade spent on Atlanta's mean streets saving lives and connecting with the drama and occasional beauty that lies inside catastrophe.
In the aftermath of 9/11, Kevin Hazzard felt that something was missing from his life -- his days were too safe, too routine. A failed salesman turned local reporter, he wanted to test himself, see how he might respond to pressure and danger. He signed up for emergency medical training and became, at age 26, a newly minted EMT running calls in the worst sections of Atlanta. His life entered a different realm -- one of blood, violence, and amazing grace.
Thoroughly intimidated at first and frequently terrified, he experienced on a nightly basis the adrenaline rush of walking into chaos. But in his downtime, Kevin reflected on how people's facades drop away when catastrophe strikes. As his hours on the job piled up, he realized he was beginning to see into the truth of things. There is no pretense five beats into a chest compression or in an alley next to a crack den or on a dimly lit highway where cars have collided. Eventually, what had at first seemed impossible happened: Kevin acquired mastery. And in the process he was able to discern the professional differences between his freewheeling peers, what marked each -- as he termed them -- as a "tourist", "true believer", or "killer".
Combining indelible scenes that remind us of life's fragile beauty with laugh-out-loud moments that keep us smiling through the worst, A Thousand Naked Strangers is an absorbing listen about one man's journey of self-discovery -- a trip that also teaches us about ourselves.
Rating: 3
This memoir is mildly interesting, but not particularly riveting. There are some truly strange cases described in this book -- like the living cancer patient infested with maggots, or the pedestrian hit by a car who tried to walk on two broken legs. The book explains what training is required for an EMT and paramedic. The book mentions some of the different EMS services in Atlanta and describes some of the working conditions. The most surprising revelation from this book is that the author considers working as a paramedic to be fun. George Newbern competently narrates this audiobook.
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