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Field Notes from Death's Door: A journey of horror, hope and healing, a memoir from a young doctor's experience in the Central African Republic, for readers of This Is Going To Hurt and Do No Harm
This Is Going to Hurt meets Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures) - a rollicking, smart and self-aware memoir about the extremes of the human experience, the limits to compassion, and what trying to save the world actually entails.
In her early 30s, Katie Treble felt stuck - in her life, in her career as an emergency doctor, and in a dead-end relationship. Moving from her home in England to sunny Byron Bay hadn't been the answer she was hoping for. Wanting to kickstart her life and put her starry-eyed idealism into action, she signed up to work for Medecins sans Frontières. She thought it would be an adventure - a chance to find meaning, purpose and maybe do some good in a world gone mad with greed.
Katie was dispatched to the war-torn Central African Republic, to a town called a remote blood diamond-mining town controlled by rebel militia, one of the poorest, most lawless, and violent places on earth and a grinding humanitarian crisis the world has largely ignored. Arriving to live in an ex-diamond traders' compound set against a backdrop of poverty, hunger, disease and gunfire, Katie was thrown in the deep end. Sweltering through long shifts in a hospital tent equipped with only the most basic resources, she fought to save an endless stream of patients while her heart broke again and again at how little a human life could be worth. Survival off-shift meant self-anaesthetising via the basic resources of bad local lager, camaraderie, card games and the odd ill-advised sexual liaison. Things were already hard enough, but when an army of rebel mercenaries descended on Bria, destroying much of the town and massacring countless civilians, Katie had to dig deep within herself to understand the meaning of resilience, the fundamental nature of human interconnectedness, and when all seems lost, the power of bearing witness as the ultimate act of kindness and compassion.
Coruscating, clear-eyed and self-deprecating, Field Notes from Death's Door is a sharply observed account of how a young woman's faith in humanity was challenged, shattered and - painfully - rebuilt.
In her early 30s, Katie Treble felt stuck - in her life, in her career as an emergency doctor, and in a dead-end relationship. Moving from her home in England to sunny Byron Bay hadn't been the answer she was hoping for. Wanting to kickstart her life and put her starry-eyed idealism into action, she signed up to work for Medecins sans Frontières. She thought it would be an adventure - a chance to find meaning, purpose and maybe do some good in a world gone mad with greed.
Katie was dispatched to the war-torn Central African Republic, to a town called a remote blood diamond-mining town controlled by rebel militia, one of the poorest, most lawless, and violent places on earth and a grinding humanitarian crisis the world has largely ignored. Arriving to live in an ex-diamond traders' compound set against a backdrop of poverty, hunger, disease and gunfire, Katie was thrown in the deep end. Sweltering through long shifts in a hospital tent equipped with only the most basic resources, she fought to save an endless stream of patients while her heart broke again and again at how little a human life could be worth. Survival off-shift meant self-anaesthetising via the basic resources of bad local lager, camaraderie, card games and the odd ill-advised sexual liaison. Things were already hard enough, but when an army of rebel mercenaries descended on Bria, destroying much of the town and massacring countless civilians, Katie had to dig deep within herself to understand the meaning of resilience, the fundamental nature of human interconnectedness, and when all seems lost, the power of bearing witness as the ultimate act of kindness and compassion.
Coruscating, clear-eyed and self-deprecating, Field Notes from Death's Door is a sharply observed account of how a young woman's faith in humanity was challenged, shattered and - painfully - rebuilt.
- GenresNonfiction
360 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2025
12 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 29, 2025
A tragic yet profoundly compelling memoir that captures the raw reality of life and death on the front lines of humanitarian medicine. The author is unflinchingly honest and deeply humane, blending vivid, often devastating scenes with moments of grace and hope. Her reflections on fear, purpose, and compassion stay with you long after the final page. It’s not an easy read but it’s an unforgettable one. It reminds us of the courage it takes simply to bear witness.
June 17, 2025
In 2017 British/Australian doctor Katie Treble was feeling unsettled in her life and career, so with starry eyed idealism she applied for a job with Médecins Sans Frontières and was soon on her way to Bria in Central African Republic. In her 6 month placement she witnessed disease, death, and war, which was largely ignored by the mainstream media.
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) operates based on the core principles of independence, neutrality, impartiality, medical ethics, and bearing witness. With this book Tremble has certainly borne witness and honours the people of CAR and the people she worked with. I didn't know a lot about the Central African Republic and this book provides a good overview of the history of the country and region, as well as a great insight into the work MSF does. Everyone who works doe MSF and organisations like this are amazing humans, I can't imagine the things they see and the decisions they have to make, all whilst living in poor conditions. This is a great but confronting read.
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) operates based on the core principles of independence, neutrality, impartiality, medical ethics, and bearing witness. With this book Tremble has certainly borne witness and honours the people of CAR and the people she worked with. I didn't know a lot about the Central African Republic and this book provides a good overview of the history of the country and region, as well as a great insight into the work MSF does. Everyone who works doe MSF and organisations like this are amazing humans, I can't imagine the things they see and the decisions they have to make, all whilst living in poor conditions. This is a great but confronting read.
June 12, 2025
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that affected me this much, I almost don’t know where to begin.
It is searingly raw, beautifully written, open and honest.
And very powerfully human.
From the initial moments, worrying about what to pack and what kind of snacks to take to ensure instant rapport with her new team mates, to the professional and cultural shock of starting work in Bria and the limitations of what can be done in a place so long deprived of even the most basic resources and infrastructure.
And then the evolving horror as the situation in Bria destabilises and worsens, and Katie is forced, repeatedly, to confront and accept the truly unacceptable, before ultimately being there to bear witness to the experiences and horrors of a people the world forgot about.
Throughout there are moments of striking pain, surprising humour, unexpected connection and haunting pathos laid bare for all to read. And underpinning everything, the quiet dignity and strength of the patients, families and volunteers forced to endure it all.
Katie, you did them proud
It is searingly raw, beautifully written, open and honest.
And very powerfully human.
From the initial moments, worrying about what to pack and what kind of snacks to take to ensure instant rapport with her new team mates, to the professional and cultural shock of starting work in Bria and the limitations of what can be done in a place so long deprived of even the most basic resources and infrastructure.
And then the evolving horror as the situation in Bria destabilises and worsens, and Katie is forced, repeatedly, to confront and accept the truly unacceptable, before ultimately being there to bear witness to the experiences and horrors of a people the world forgot about.
Throughout there are moments of striking pain, surprising humour, unexpected connection and haunting pathos laid bare for all to read. And underpinning everything, the quiet dignity and strength of the patients, families and volunteers forced to endure it all.
Katie, you did them proud
July 15, 2025
Dr Katie, troubled by her own privilege and lack of direction, signs up for Medicines San Frontiers (MSF) and pardon my spelling, heads off to 'do some good'. Shipped off to Paris initially, to get some background on the organisation and the types of work they undertake in foreign hotspots, she finds herself in the Central African Republic (CAR).
This is one of those forgotten and terribly war-torn African countries despoiled originally by colonisers and then taken apart (literally) by other countries and factions ever since, to gain access to minerals (ie diamonds) and damn the locals.
Raised from tiny children on drugs, including heroin and extreme violence, youngsters are put to work as child soldiers working for whichever warlord is in the thrall of the foreign country or company seeking to exploit the country far from the eyes of the rest of the world.
What happens next and her experiences should be publicised and well known - even to us molly-coddled westerners, however it is not. Dr Katie Treble undertook to record her experience with MSF (which just about killed her, physically and mentally) and the stories of many of the victims of the guerrilla warfare played out amongst tribes and religions, all bankrolled by 'interested parties' who never get their hands bloodied.
I don't think I've read a more powerful medical memoir. The starving children, the bullet and machete wounded men, women and children and the overwhelming nature of preventable illness amongst the CAR populace. For everything she and her team did, the tears shed and the innumerable hours worked, was really little more than putting a bandaid on a shotgun wound. All the good intentions made almost no impact, but for each man, woman and child she helped, a better world was at least briefly promised.
This is one of those forgotten and terribly war-torn African countries despoiled originally by colonisers and then taken apart (literally) by other countries and factions ever since, to gain access to minerals (ie diamonds) and damn the locals.
Raised from tiny children on drugs, including heroin and extreme violence, youngsters are put to work as child soldiers working for whichever warlord is in the thrall of the foreign country or company seeking to exploit the country far from the eyes of the rest of the world.
What happens next and her experiences should be publicised and well known - even to us molly-coddled westerners, however it is not. Dr Katie Treble undertook to record her experience with MSF (which just about killed her, physically and mentally) and the stories of many of the victims of the guerrilla warfare played out amongst tribes and religions, all bankrolled by 'interested parties' who never get their hands bloodied.
I don't think I've read a more powerful medical memoir. The starving children, the bullet and machete wounded men, women and children and the overwhelming nature of preventable illness amongst the CAR populace. For everything she and her team did, the tears shed and the innumerable hours worked, was really little more than putting a bandaid on a shotgun wound. All the good intentions made almost no impact, but for each man, woman and child she helped, a better world was at least briefly promised.
June 13, 2025
Wow, just wow. What an incredible, heart wrenching, laugh out loud, emotional, wise and truly beautiful book this is. If I could give this 6 stars I would. This book is a memoir of a young Doctor, Katie who through her own childhood experiences, has a yearning to right any wrongs she sees and fight for those who desperately need fighting for. It takes us through her upbringing which laid the foundations for her career in Medicine, and why she ended up as a volunteer for Medicine Sans Frontiere (MSF). Katie is given an assignment to the Central African Republic, one of the poorest if not poorest nations in Africa. Katie details in exquisite detail the shock of landing in such a place, and the disparity between where she has come from and where she finds herself. She gives the reader a much needed history of the land and how it has come to be such a poor,forgotten and ignored state, and most of all through her experiences with the many patients she sees, she aptly and starkly reveals the unbearable paradox between the wealthy countries who profit off of this country’s land and the people who live there.
Katie is wise, generous, humble and somehow despite the content provides many laugh out loud moments in her writing. She describes things so well and with such humanity it is easy to put yourself in her shoes. She also gives us the gift of her vulnerability and this only endears you more to her and most of all she gives voice to all of our conscious or unconscious imposter syndrome that we have walking through life.
Katie set out to share the stories of the people in the most forgotten and ignored of places and bring their plight to our attention and she succeeded in the most impressive, beautiful and open-hearted of ways.
Thank you Katie, this book is such a gift. Don’t hesitate to purchase this book, it truly is a fantastic read.
Katie is wise, generous, humble and somehow despite the content provides many laugh out loud moments in her writing. She describes things so well and with such humanity it is easy to put yourself in her shoes. She also gives us the gift of her vulnerability and this only endears you more to her and most of all she gives voice to all of our conscious or unconscious imposter syndrome that we have walking through life.
Katie set out to share the stories of the people in the most forgotten and ignored of places and bring their plight to our attention and she succeeded in the most impressive, beautiful and open-hearted of ways.
Thank you Katie, this book is such a gift. Don’t hesitate to purchase this book, it truly is a fantastic read.
June 25, 2025
I can not recommend this book highly enough. I read the whole thing in one go and think it should be ok everyone’s reading list!
August 30, 2025
I have truely no words to define how this has impacted me. A heartbreaking story that is so necessary to tell. Katie Treble might just be the bravest author I have ever read. In every sense of the word Brave.
February 5, 2026
This was such a deeply moving and unflinching memoir that took me into the heart of medicine in one of the world’s most challenging environments, the Central African Republic. I am ashamed of the amount of history that I just wasn't aware of, especially as someone who actively tries to educate myself of quite literally everything! What immediately stood out to me was the commitment to grounding personal stories within the larger historical and political context of the region. Rather than simply recounting events as isolated moments, she weaves in the background of conflict, colonial legacy, and humanitarian crisis, giving the narrative a depth that is both educational and essential for truly understanding the stakes.
The whole way reading it felt like I was on the journey as well, to the point it wasn't until the end I realized the amount of changes that had happened. In the beginning, the author arrives with a mixture of hope, determination, and some naivety. As the pages turn, that initial optimism is tested relentlessly by the harsh realities of working in a place where resources are scarce, infrastructure is fragile, and every day can bring life-or-death decisions. The emotional arc is painful as a fellow optimist but so heart wrenchingly true, showing not only the external challenges but the internal transformation that occurs when idealism meets the brutal complexities of real-world crisis medicine. This transformation is portrayed with such raw humanity that it stays with you. Exposure to trauma reshapes identity and outlook whether we want it to or not.
What I found especially compelling was the author’s vulnerability. She does not shy away from exposing her doubts, fears, and moments of helplessness. This honesty makes the memoir feel intimate and genuine, rather than heroic or sanitized. It’s a reminder that healthcare workers in these environments are human beings grappling with impossible situations, often without the support systems that many of us take for granted! From a hopeful newcomer to someone carrying the scars of what she has seen and endured.
The writing balances clinical detail with personal reflection, creating a rhythm that pulls you into the daily grind of crisis medicine while allowing space to process the emotional weight. The author’s descriptions of patients, colleagues, and the environment are vivid and respectful, never reducing anyone to a mere case or statistic. This sensitivity adds a layer of dignity to the narrative that is deeply touching.
Despite the many moments of horror, the memoir also holds onto threads of hope and healing. These moments are not sugar-coated but emerge organically through the relationships the author builds, the small victories in patient care, and the resilience of the people she meets. This balance makes the book not just a list of hardship but a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit that could inspire so many just by lending an ear.
Thank you to all those who put your lives on the line for the chance of saving many more.
The whole way reading it felt like I was on the journey as well, to the point it wasn't until the end I realized the amount of changes that had happened. In the beginning, the author arrives with a mixture of hope, determination, and some naivety. As the pages turn, that initial optimism is tested relentlessly by the harsh realities of working in a place where resources are scarce, infrastructure is fragile, and every day can bring life-or-death decisions. The emotional arc is painful as a fellow optimist but so heart wrenchingly true, showing not only the external challenges but the internal transformation that occurs when idealism meets the brutal complexities of real-world crisis medicine. This transformation is portrayed with such raw humanity that it stays with you. Exposure to trauma reshapes identity and outlook whether we want it to or not.
What I found especially compelling was the author’s vulnerability. She does not shy away from exposing her doubts, fears, and moments of helplessness. This honesty makes the memoir feel intimate and genuine, rather than heroic or sanitized. It’s a reminder that healthcare workers in these environments are human beings grappling with impossible situations, often without the support systems that many of us take for granted! From a hopeful newcomer to someone carrying the scars of what she has seen and endured.
The writing balances clinical detail with personal reflection, creating a rhythm that pulls you into the daily grind of crisis medicine while allowing space to process the emotional weight. The author’s descriptions of patients, colleagues, and the environment are vivid and respectful, never reducing anyone to a mere case or statistic. This sensitivity adds a layer of dignity to the narrative that is deeply touching.
Despite the many moments of horror, the memoir also holds onto threads of hope and healing. These moments are not sugar-coated but emerge organically through the relationships the author builds, the small victories in patient care, and the resilience of the people she meets. This balance makes the book not just a list of hardship but a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit that could inspire so many just by lending an ear.
Thank you to all those who put your lives on the line for the chance of saving many more.
November 22, 2025
A deeply moving and challenging book to read. Katie's down to earth, vivid descriptions force you see, to not turn away from, the unjust inequity that she shines a powerful light onto through these pages.
Katie's honesty and raw vulnerability allows us to glimpse her own inner battle between the privileged world I too live in, and those of the Central African Republic and other lands of displaced peoples, where, "but for the grace of God, there go I."
Katie, thank you for your bravery, in working with MSF, and for telling this story, and for continuing working to ease pain and heal the trauma in our world.
"My old worldview had been torched. I'd seen things I'd never unsee and learned truths that were incompatible with the peaceful ignorance I'd once enjoyed: every life is infinitely precious, yet utterly cheap and disposable. Innocence is no protection from brutality, in fact, it calls to it. Evil is nothing exceptional; the capacity for it exists in every single one of us if we entertain hatred. Compassion, kindness and connection are the only things that matter when all else is lost, but they're the things we discard when the going gets tough."
Arresting, words that cut to the core of humanity and should be shouted as a warning lest we forget this truth.
I echo the words of Red Hat, Katie: "Thank you for your work." "A good deed, never forgotten."
Katie's honesty and raw vulnerability allows us to glimpse her own inner battle between the privileged world I too live in, and those of the Central African Republic and other lands of displaced peoples, where, "but for the grace of God, there go I."
Katie, thank you for your bravery, in working with MSF, and for telling this story, and for continuing working to ease pain and heal the trauma in our world.
"My old worldview had been torched. I'd seen things I'd never unsee and learned truths that were incompatible with the peaceful ignorance I'd once enjoyed: every life is infinitely precious, yet utterly cheap and disposable. Innocence is no protection from brutality, in fact, it calls to it. Evil is nothing exceptional; the capacity for it exists in every single one of us if we entertain hatred. Compassion, kindness and connection are the only things that matter when all else is lost, but they're the things we discard when the going gets tough."
Arresting, words that cut to the core of humanity and should be shouted as a warning lest we forget this truth.
I echo the words of Red Hat, Katie: "Thank you for your work." "A good deed, never forgotten."
June 27, 2025
If you read just one book this year let it be this one. It will make you think, feel, laugh out loud, cry ( several times) be immensely grateful for all you have and hug your children tighter.
It is impossible not to be moved by the complexity of humanity, the depths kindness and the senselessness of suffering that Katie Treble describes with an engaging and profoundly human voice. You will finish the book shaken but inspired to be a better, kinder person, reminded that ‘we are all connected on this finite planet’ and peoples stories matter.
Ps I feel it’s worth adding that it if you grew up in England or have ever lived in Australia or have spent any time in Africa or have an interest in African politics or have a medical background of any kind or have been connected with NGO work in any capacity this book may have an even bigger appeal as there are many moments that you will directly relate to or connect with. But ultimately everyone needs to read this.
It is impossible not to be moved by the complexity of humanity, the depths kindness and the senselessness of suffering that Katie Treble describes with an engaging and profoundly human voice. You will finish the book shaken but inspired to be a better, kinder person, reminded that ‘we are all connected on this finite planet’ and peoples stories matter.
Ps I feel it’s worth adding that it if you grew up in England or have ever lived in Australia or have spent any time in Africa or have an interest in African politics or have a medical background of any kind or have been connected with NGO work in any capacity this book may have an even bigger appeal as there are many moments that you will directly relate to or connect with. But ultimately everyone needs to read this.
November 19, 2025
I loved this book. Generally I’m more of a fiction girl, but someone suggested I read it and I’m so glad they did. I couldn’t put it down. It was absolutely gripping and so bloody disturbing that right in the middle of Africa. There’s this country that no one except for medicine on frontier and a few other agencies seem to care about. The writing is great and the pacing is sometimes overwhelmingly fast but that makes it even better and even more disturbing we learn about Africa but we also learn about Katie the author. She’s a really interesting character in the story and in many ways, it’s her presence that makes us read On. It’s beautifully written. Katie is an absolute gem. There’s loads of pesos a little bit of sex and so much drama probably the best non-fiction I’ve read for years.
November 14, 2025
I initially was going to rate this book four stars, mainly due to it being a little wordy and a little chunky, but after some reflection I believe it deserves the full five. Dr. Katie Treble is brave, above anything else. Thank you for sharing your story amongst those of whom you treated in Bria. I hope this book reaches far and wide and lingers in the minds of us privileged enough to buy the paperback and critique it on an iPhone app.
July 20, 2025
Katie has done an excellent job of highlighting a part of the world that as chronically ignored. The CAR, as explained in the story is struggling, and we need more like Katie willing to travel to, and report from deaths door.
Her candid storytelling is compassionate, self-aware and at times funny.
You’d be hard pressed to find anything similar to this book.
Her candid storytelling is compassionate, self-aware and at times funny.
You’d be hard pressed to find anything similar to this book.
August 16, 2025
Very glad to have read this memoir - well written and funny in parts despite the way it describes a really messed up, poverty-striken town in a poverty-striken country, in a messed up world. I learnt a lot about the Central African Republic, Medicins Sans Frontiers (mostly good) and the UN (mostly bad).
December 26, 2025
This feels like essential reading for everyone. This account was funny, self deprecating, but also immensely sad. I’m so glad I read it, as it reminds me of how little I know (or we know as a result of what media tells us) - about certain situations in the world. A reminder to keep seeing and valuing those in the world less privileged than us.
January 19, 2026
A story of terrible hardship and war and oppression.
Katie is a doctor who joins Medecins Sans Frontieres to work with a team in Central Africa assisting the local people who are suffering famine, starvation and wounds from the war.
A truly heartbreaking story, of people in crisis and the amazing volunteers who give their lives to help.
Definitely a must read.
Katie is a doctor who joins Medecins Sans Frontieres to work with a team in Central Africa assisting the local people who are suffering famine, starvation and wounds from the war.
A truly heartbreaking story, of people in crisis and the amazing volunteers who give their lives to help.
Definitely a must read.
July 9, 2025
An amazing person and a huge reminder of the privilege around us. What an important story to tell.
August 17, 2025
One of the most important books I've ever read.
September 16, 2025
An incredibly compelling book that has continued to occupy my thoughts. Treble has written an extremely readable memoir, in the main of her time working in the CAR.
September 22, 2025
What a fantastic insight into an otherwise invisible and untold story going on on this planet. Gripped me from start to finish.
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December 7, 2025Masterful writing meets unapologetic humanity and self-reflection. I’d wish a first-read of this book on anyone 👌
October 6, 2025
This is a serious book. The autobiography drives the story but the take home message is about the forgotten people of Africa where life is cheap .
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews