Twenty-Five at the Lip is a year-long trip through the personal lives of three twenty-something paramedics struggling to navigate their relationships, sanity, and integrity. These young heroes come to find themselves struggling to maintain their sense of self and purpose in a quarter-life story written through the lens of EMS. Recommended 18+ for strong language, some graphic imagery, sexual situations, alcohol and illicit drug use.
James Windale is a writer and paramedic from the New England area. His published works include "Twenty-Five at the Lip", "Tuesday's Gone", "Bright Lights and Cold Steel", "Just Say Maybe", "Broken Protocols", and "The Delirium: A Zombie Opera of the Great War" which he co-authored with Jeremy Brinkett.
Works to come are "Don't Look Back in Anger".
He runs his own fly-by-night publishing firm Red Drum Press and is an avid outdoorsman, photographer, father and husband.
As a paramedic, this book resonated with me. There were so many parts I was screaming internally "YES! THIS IS MY LIFE!!" I have never felt so "connected" to a book before. This would have gotten 5 stars from me if there was a better wrap of the ending. I turned the page and it just said "THE END." Uh say whaaaaaat?!?! I wasn't done with it. I want to know more. Perhaps I am biased but I do not think the author needed to explain many of the medical procedures or instrument names and uses. You don't watch medical shows and have them cut to some random person and explain what is going on. If people want more information they can use the world wide web. Lastly, the author needed an editor. Some parts were pretty choppy and raw. I have only been in EMS for 2 years but how quickly you realize the "family" and small circle of people that understand what your daily life is like becomes so obvious after a few months. People want to know the interesting parts of the your job but not the gory, disgusting parts. Sometimes I forget to filter that to people and I get strange, disgusted looks. READ THIS BOOK! That is all.
How ever different the North and South may be, the world of EMS remains the same every where. Long hours, not enough pay, and you definitely don't do it for the fun. The characters in this book are very real and I couldn't help but get caught up in their lives & emotions.
Twenty-Five at the Lip was a fantastic read. First of all, I work in an emergency room/hospital, so I'm a little familiar with paramedics, medical procedures, and terminology. However, while I do see what happens once EMT gets to the hospital, I have never witnessed what happens out in the field. The author gave us a clear and well drawn picture of these events, so I was able to "see" what it is like.
I found the characters interesting and believable. The main characters were well rounded with family, friends, and lives of their own. I followed along with their struggles with interest, and wanted to know how things would turn out with them till the very end. I know another reviewer said the ending was abrupt, but I found it at a good place and was satisfied with the resolution for the characters.
Another thing that I really liked was the dialogue. It seemed real to me, and I really appreciated that. So many times I read books with not enough dialogue or stiff dialogue, and that was not the case here.
My only issue with the book was that it seemed a little slow to get into. (Once I did, however, I finished the rest of the book in one day) I think the reason it seems this way is because of the multiple POVs. It took me a while to become interested in all of the characters. Then again, this is outside the genre that I typically read and write in, so it could be that I'm just not used to it.
In conclusion, a fantastic book for those who not only work in the medical field, but are interested in learning or reading about those who are. I can't tell you how many times I've read Emergency scenes in books, and they are so wrong it's embarrassing. Twenty-Five at the Lip definitely does it right!
I loved this book for a lot of reasons. I definitely related to the daily struggles, the emotions, and the frustrations related to being a medic. I also really enjoyed the journey each character took through the story, as there were definite changes shown and each of them grew as people. That being said, the editing was poor... I found numerous spelling and grammar errors, and at times the writing was flat. There were also moments when things bounced so quickly between multiple characters' thoughts or feelings that I had to stop and go back because it was difficult to follow. These things took me out of an otherwise great story, distracting me from the heart and soul of the book. My personal nitpicking aside, I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone, inside or outside the EMS field, because the truth of street medicine is openly displayed in a real fashion. Overall it was excellent!
They are truly a life saviour, and are irreplaceable when you are in need. I personally could have enjoyed it more with out the explicit sex. Understand at that age sex happens and would prefer reading that they did, without all the detail.