A Little Unwell

by Kerry Jewell

A compelling, candid and darkly funny novel that explores the modern realities of our dysfunctional public health system, and the fragile human beings fighting to make it work.

Night shift. Just keep them all alive until the morning they said.
No higher brain function required they said.
They were wrong.

For Amy, being a doctor was supposed to mean winning at life.

Helping people. Saving lives. Having a secure job. Earning good money. Tick, tick, tick, tick.

But now, in her second year in a city hospital the reality is a world away from Amy's med school dreams. She is finding out that people don't always want to be 'helped', the pay barely covers rent, her hours are ridiculous, her favourite patients are getting sicker, and her surgical trainee boyfriend has recently gone shy on proposing.

What Amy does have are the friendships forged by dealing with recalcitrant patients, endless nightshifts, and crying in the emergency department bathrooms. And a belief that maybe, underneath it all, it's a job that's still worth doing.

And when things begin to go wrong - horribly wrong - they're all that Amy has. Will it be enough?

A Little Unwell is a darkly funny and emotionally powerful medical drama about the life of a female junior doctor - dealing with recalcitrant patients, long hours and crying in the emergency department bathrooms - informed by the real-life experiences of the author.

Genres: Australia, Fiction, Mental Health, Contemporary

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2026

Reviews

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette, this is an ARC review.

If you didn’t know better, you’d be forgiven for thinking that A Little Unwell was a memoir. Riddled with the gallows humour that can only come from having worked in healthcare herself, Jewell writes about Amy, a junior doctor navigating the complexities of a hospital night shift rotation and some semblance of a personal life.

It’s rare that I ACTUALLY laugh out loud when I read but this book had me in fits of giggles from the start, before it had me bawling. The book paints a grim and unfortunately extremely realistic view of the Australian public healthcare system and some of the vast challenges our doctors are faced with every day - gruesome injuries, difficult patients, difficult colleagues, compassion fatigue, actual fatigue.

I enjoyed the tone and pace of the book and found it a very engaging novel, despite its often heavy content. I think this book will resonate deeply with anyone who has worked in frontline healthcare, and be equally valuable to those readers who haven’t. My only qualm was that I found Chris so infuriating, but I understand that this was purposeful!

TW: The novel is quite graphic in parts, uses strong language and addresses suicide. Read at your discretion.

Dark, wickedly funny, tragic and powerful - if you loved “This is Going to Hurt” then you will love A Little Unwell!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s taken me some time to think about how to put into words how I feel about this book. Having been a junior doctor and come through the other side/survived to tell the tale, this is entirely accurate in so many ways. It highlights what it’s like to be a junior, to be a woman in medicine, and how the job changes us, for better or worse.

[Ally King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggled to find the right words to describe how this book made me feel, particularly as I stare down the barrel of my own upcoming junior doctor years. It perfectly captures the highs, lows, triumphs and heartbreaks of life as a junior doctor in an increasingly stretched healthcare system. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and at times it made me anxious for what lies ahead. It is a book I will be recommending to everyone, especially those outside healthcare, so they can gain a glimpse into the realities we face every day.

[Madeleine Magee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read! With a very realistic representation of being a hospital doctor in Australia and did an excellent job of shining the light on the mental health struggles many health professionals face. Wishing Kerry Jewell all the very best with her own personal cancer battle and hope to read the sequel to this one day.

[Jesskvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, heart wrenching book that gives such insight to both how supportive and brutal the healthcare system can be to healthcare workers, particularly junior doctors. Highly recommend reading regardless of what field you’re in, and perhaps especially if you’ve only even been on the receiving end of a stretched healthcare system.

[Davena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little Unwell by Kerry Jewell
I chose this one for a few reasons: it's the Australian author, and this is her debut novel; I always believe the 'debut crew' hype! Additionally, it's set in the Australian medical industry, within which I work.

A Little Unwell explores the reality and complexity of our public health system and the people who work within it. Junior doctor Amy is navigating a relationship with a terrible, terrible man... I disliked him right from the start, but the fact that Amy can't see that lends to her authenticity and relatability.

Amy's friendships are forged during night shifts and while crying in the emergency department bathrooms - and much like the Menzies Mental Health series by Anne Buist (AO), Graeme Simsion, this must have drawn on real-life experiences of the author; Dr Kerry Jewell is a writer and nuclear medicine physician. 

If you enjoyed the Menzies Mental Health series by Anne Buist (AO), Graeme Simsion, or This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay (either the book or the TV series), frontline healthcare/medical shows or books in general, then I think you'll also like this one.

There are some trigger warnings for this one, including suicide, medical procedures, and terrible boyfriends.

#booksdeevaareads #2026bookshelf #ALittleUnwell @hachetteaus @drkerryjewell @Readings

[Sharah Powell]

RTC

[Anna Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious and heartbreaking read, that will make you want to give every healthcare worker you know a hug.

[Alison Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Highly recommend

[Adelaide Hockenhull · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel a little unwell after reading that ❤️‍🩹

[Aidan Prewett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is something I will return to again and again. If you have even a passing interest in what goes on in hospitals, this is a book you must read!

[everything golden mims · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a particular kind of recognition that comes from reading a book set in the world you actually work in, and *A Little Unwell* delivers that in spades. Set in the Australian public health system, following junior doctor Amy through the relentless grind of hospital life, this debut feels genuinely lived-in — because, as a nuclear medicine physician herself, Jewell knows exactly what she's writing about.

As a nurse rather than a doctor, I came at this from a slightly different angle to Amy, but so much of it still landed, the exhaustion, the bureaucratic nonsense, the dark humour that becomes the only way to survive a shift, the quiet toll of caring for people in a system that often doesn't care for its workers. Jewell writes it all with a sharp, candid honesty that never feels exploitative.

What really elevated this book for me was how unflinchingly it tackled self-care (or the complete lack of it), the sexism still baked into medicine, and the weight of mental health and suicide within the profession. These are topics that need to be written about more, and Jewell handles them with both humour and genuine respect for how heavy they are.

Dark, funny, and devastating in turns and so important for anyone who has worked frontline healthcare, or anyone who simply wants to understand what it costs the people who do.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got more engrossed in this book as it went on. Ending with me bingeing it until past midnight and absolutely sobbing. I don’t know why we think it ok for junior doctors to go through this experience as if it is a normal rite of passage.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Little Unwell makes me feel like I’ve just caught up with our FMC Amy for coffee after rain checking a dozen times and just being mind blown by everything she’s just gone through. 🤯

Of course she down plays whatever is going on but I’m humoured, saddened and my blood boils on behalf of her. Being a junior doctor is no fucking joke 😮‍💨

I was captivated by the fact that I felt as though I was inside Amy’s head!!! In awe of the medical field and what women put up with. Emphasis on what WOMEN PUT UP WITH! I wanted to fight for Amy, fight with Amy and fight FOR AMY. I want to hold her close and say I love you and I see you’re doing the best and it’s incredible. I want to lay her head in my lap and tell her everything will be okay because the losers don’t deserve her and that she makes a difference where it matters 😭

Please read with caution as it’s following the life of a doctor in ED and such so just be mindful of that. Honestly I’m still sobbing 😭

Thank you to @hachetteaus and @netgalley for my eARC it was just the kind of read I needed to be flooded with emotion 🫶🏻

[Casey Nott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fabulous debut! Clever, funny, heart wrenching and life affirming. I couldn’t put it down!

[giotareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved loved loved this book. As someone who has worked in healthcare, the author nails the unrelenting pressure of juggling patients, life and the sheer exhaustion of it all. Beautifully written with pathos and empathy, and you'll cheer for Amy all the way. And yes, her boyfriend is a loser and she's too forgiving .

[Mehrbano · Rating 4 out of 5]

a realistic portrayal of life as a junior doctor
no true cathartic moment for the stuff between amy and the most openly and obviously garbage boyfriend i've ever read about. girl, get up!!!!!!!!!
the ending was rushed in this regard

[Monika Coha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I needed as a medical student!

[Rosie Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ nurse friends I think you’ll like this one

[Leahna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little Unwell read like a memoir, which isn’t surprising given the author’s experience in the medical field. Having said that, I found the medical aspects of the book to be accessible for — what I can imagine — a wide range of people. This paired seamlessly with the plot and the issues that the main character, Amy, had to face.

I found myself experiencing a range of emotions while reading this book. On one hand, the humour made me laugh out loud at times — and on the other, I could relate to certain scenes that explored grief and mental health, due to my own recent experiences. Basically, my nana had a stroke last year and eventually passed away in palliative care (on her 93rd birthday — of course she had to make her exit memorable). My mum and I spent a lot of time at the hospital, so the setting in this book felt familiar to me. It made me think of all the medical staff that were there for my nana, and I appreciate them so much for taking the time to get to know who my nana was before the stroke — I know how under resourced and understaffed they are.

This book also made me think about the importance we put on work, and how in many industries, stress and burnout is normalised as just a part of the job. In my opinion, work should not take precedence of one’s mental health and their right to enjoy their own life. Even if you don’t work in the medical field, I think most people will be able to relate to this aspect in this book. I also appreciated that the author highlighted the sexism and double standards women have to face in the workplace.

Overall, I had a great experience with this one. It made me reflect on my own life.

Thank you to @hachetteaus for sending me an ARC! 💚

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with caution if you are, or have been a junior doctor. A viscerally real account of the trauma of this career - the relentless ward cover shifts, the terrible relationships, the abusive patients, resuscitating your colleagues figuratively and sometimes literally.
Amy I hope you didn’t give up on medicine after the last chapter finished - life is so much better as a specialist for those of us who survive training.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, honest, and a bit close to the bone for a ‘meddie’! Really enjoyed this coming of age story that has already provoked debate both inside and outside the medical community, for its commentary on how junior/resident doctors ‘survive’ their early training years in a system designed to fail them.

[Lujain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read !! Easy to parse and gives a nice glimpse into the reality of the Australian healthcare system, some parts were a little hard to piece together, particularly near the end, but overall a nice plane read!

[Serena Mevissen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hits incredibly close to home: the bureaucratic nonsense, the way medicine changes you, the strange erosion of your thinking after a string of night shifts. I’m writing this review while on nights, which perhaps makes me an especially receptive audience.

So many parts of this book felt as though they could have been written by any one of my colleagues, or by myself. The writing is uncomplicated and easy to read, more like an extended internal monologue than the telling of a larger story. Normally that might frustrate me, but I didn’t mind it here. Again, I’m on night shift.

[Nina Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accurate and heartbreaking depiction of the junior doctor years. Very engaging especially in the last third, I had to stay up to finish. The book left me feeling sad overall, especially thinking about the juniors who continue to work in the often broken hospital system, but the positive relationships with Amy’s mentor and her GP were glimmers of hope. A great debut novel, 4.5 stars.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great surprise read! Then I notice at the end the author had Hannah Richell as a mentor… another great author.
Thanks for another great Aussie book!

[Margaret La · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed this book! Part fiction and part medical reality, it was , at times, heartbreaking and at other times, hilarious. It gave a great insight into the Australian medical community and dealt with the challenges and pressures that impact junior doctors in The Australian hospital system. Be prepared for the laughs and the tears.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Painfully accurate but very funny

A funny and accurate portrayal of the life of a junior doctor. Its pretty dark in parts, especially given how realistic it is.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if I’m insanely proud of Amy or completely triggered. Reinforced my career choices & am now contemplating a minibar in my consult room.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Temu ‘this is going to hurt’.