Life Lines, Series 1-3

by Al Smith

Carrie is a ambulance call handler whose own life is fast becoming as much of an emergency as the calls she takes. Working gruelling twelve hour shifts she never knows what the next call will be or the effect it might have on her.

MP3 CD

First published April 15, 2020

About the author

Al Smith is a British playwright. Plays include Enola (2005), Radio (2006/7), The Astronaut Wives Club (2006), The Bird (2008), Harrogate (2015) and Diary of a Madman (2016). He has been Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Finborough Theatre and a participant of the Paines Plough Future Perfect scheme.

Information from Drama Online.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio is amazing omg you really go through the heart racing moments with the callers and Carrie.
What a roller coaster of a audio I am listening too, this woman is a dispatch hero.
Your heart races and breaks for the people and their losses it really shows how lonely people get.

[Si Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carrie’s a 999 call operator. She’s not very good at being a wife or a mum, but she’s exceptionally good at her job.

This book will punch you in the stomach again and again and again … and leave you begging for more.


There’s a scene with a trans character, Frances. It’s both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

A couple other stories stand out: the arc with Connor the addict is especially good and Nigel the dog brings a bittersweet moment.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio which was very effective. It is not 9-1-1 in Britain but 9-9-9. The reader is introduced to Carrie who is an operator for 9-9-9 ambulance service. The calls are heart wrenching from lonely calls, suicidal calls, assault calls, and medical emergency calls. Carrie is good at her job. She rescues others as her own life has it's own stressors.

[Anton Segers · Rating 4 out of 5]

BBC-radiodrama, dat intussen al 7 seizoenen loopt, over het werk en het leven van een telefoniste van een alarmlijn. Alarmerend levensecht, zowel qua schriftuur als qua acteren, zoals enkel de BBC daar al decennia een patent op heeft.
De fragiliteit van een mens, zijn wanhoop in levensbedreigende situaties en ook de solidariteit tussen mensen worden erg aangrijpend overgebracht. Herkenbaar is ook hoe iemand die professioneel levens van mensen redt zoveel last heeft met haar eigen leven…

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to in audio format.

The premise of the series was excellent. I enjoyed the calls that Carrie took, and they seemed very true to life.

However the series was ruined by Carrie, she irritated me and I thought she cared more about her job than her family.