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Can You Hear Me?
A memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life as a paramedic.
A young man has stopped breathing in a supermarket toilet. A pedestrian with a nasty head injury won't let the crew near him on a busy road. A newborn baby is worryingly silent. An addict urinates on the ambulance floor when denied a fix. This is the life of an ambulance paramedic.
Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years: every day, he sees a dozen of the scenes we hope to see only once in a lifetime. Can You Hear Me? - the first thing he says when he arrives on the scene - is a memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life on the front-lines of medicine in the UK.
As well as a look into dozens of extraordinary scenes - the hoarder who won't move his collection to let his ailing father leave the house, the blood-soaked man who tries to escape from the ambulance, the life saved by a lucky crew who had been called to see someone else entirely - Can You Hear Me? is an honest examination of the strains and challenges of one of the most demanding and important jobs anyone can do.
A young man has stopped breathing in a supermarket toilet. A pedestrian with a nasty head injury won't let the crew near him on a busy road. A newborn baby is worryingly silent. An addict urinates on the ambulance floor when denied a fix. This is the life of an ambulance paramedic.
Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years: every day, he sees a dozen of the scenes we hope to see only once in a lifetime. Can You Hear Me? - the first thing he says when he arrives on the scene - is a memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life on the front-lines of medicine in the UK.
As well as a look into dozens of extraordinary scenes - the hoarder who won't move his collection to let his ailing father leave the house, the blood-soaked man who tries to escape from the ambulance, the life saved by a lucky crew who had been called to see someone else entirely - Can You Hear Me? is an honest examination of the strains and challenges of one of the most demanding and important jobs anyone can do.
323 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2020
103 people are currently reading
2169 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
January 23, 2020
ARC received in exchange for an honest review 🚑
Can You Hear Me? is a collection of memoirs from paramedic Jake Jones during his time in the NHS ambulance service. As expected, it’s filled with a multitude of stories that cover the wide breadth of tasks paramedics do, from saving livings to telling people who to take paracetamol. It’s a critique on the misuse of a wonderful service, full of compassion, but also despondency at the amount of abuse such workers receive.
The real highlight for me while reading where the many stories scattered throughout that really highlighted the various foibles of human nature. From mental health issues, cardiac arrests and everything in between, paramedics deal with everything life throws at people and the different ways people react to these life pressures. They appear with blue flashing lights, guns blazing, deal with the mess and move onto the next. They inhibit such a small yet important time in a patient’s life, and I found this fascinating. The author details these events compassionately, while allowing the to reader see into the many thoughts that run through a paramedics head during a time of crisis.
Unfortunately I sometimes found the writing style a little messy and incredibly introspective, which didn’t lend ourself well to the overall tone of the book. Especially at the beginning, the author intersperses their career history with patient cases, disrupting the pace, and often meaning I’d loose track of what was happening. Thankfully, this seemed to resolve itself half way through the book although there’s still a lot of self reflection that I found to be overly done. I’ve also read a few memoirs in this genre (Blood, Sweat and Tea comes to mind) which I found to have a more charismatic and engaging writing style.
Some fascinating insights here, told with compassion and for thought, but a bit too introspective and not charismatic enough to hold my attention for very long.
Can You Hear Me? is a collection of memoirs from paramedic Jake Jones during his time in the NHS ambulance service. As expected, it’s filled with a multitude of stories that cover the wide breadth of tasks paramedics do, from saving livings to telling people who to take paracetamol. It’s a critique on the misuse of a wonderful service, full of compassion, but also despondency at the amount of abuse such workers receive.
The real highlight for me while reading where the many stories scattered throughout that really highlighted the various foibles of human nature. From mental health issues, cardiac arrests and everything in between, paramedics deal with everything life throws at people and the different ways people react to these life pressures. They appear with blue flashing lights, guns blazing, deal with the mess and move onto the next. They inhibit such a small yet important time in a patient’s life, and I found this fascinating. The author details these events compassionately, while allowing the to reader see into the many thoughts that run through a paramedics head during a time of crisis.
Unfortunately I sometimes found the writing style a little messy and incredibly introspective, which didn’t lend ourself well to the overall tone of the book. Especially at the beginning, the author intersperses their career history with patient cases, disrupting the pace, and often meaning I’d loose track of what was happening. Thankfully, this seemed to resolve itself half way through the book although there’s still a lot of self reflection that I found to be overly done. I’ve also read a few memoirs in this genre (Blood, Sweat and Tea comes to mind) which I found to have a more charismatic and engaging writing style.
Some fascinating insights here, told with compassion and for thought, but a bit too introspective and not charismatic enough to hold my attention for very long.
September 30, 2020
This is a 3.5 star rating.
I’ve read a lot of medical biographies, including 2 previously written by paramedics, and this is good but not quite as good as those.
I felt that the style of writing was comparably unique which I liked, but it was a bit scrambled and I didn’t like the way the stories were left without follow up.
I know that very often the paramedics never find out the outcome of their patients, but in the previous books I’d read the stories had been given conclusions, this could have really done with that.
As always, I was left grateful and in awe of our incredible NHS frontline, and I salute Jake Jones and his colleagues who are real life heroes, I just can’t help but feel that this could have been a little better.
I’ve read a lot of medical biographies, including 2 previously written by paramedics, and this is good but not quite as good as those.
I felt that the style of writing was comparably unique which I liked, but it was a bit scrambled and I didn’t like the way the stories were left without follow up.
I know that very often the paramedics never find out the outcome of their patients, but in the previous books I’d read the stories had been given conclusions, this could have really done with that.
As always, I was left grateful and in awe of our incredible NHS frontline, and I salute Jake Jones and his colleagues who are real life heroes, I just can’t help but feel that this could have been a little better.
February 17, 2020
Paramedics really are the front line when it comes to emergencies and even when it's not so much an emergency but much needed attention of many kinds.
Our NHS takes a bashing but reading this memoir makes you realise the scope of what these professionals achieve, often with few resources and a whole host of work- this is at times heartbreaking, occasionally amusing and really paints a vivid picture of the sheer length and breadth of the different situations encountered.
The writing is sharp and involving, the events described as real as they come. I finished this with a new found respect for all of our medical staff who save lives every day. An important book to read.
Our NHS takes a bashing but reading this memoir makes you realise the scope of what these professionals achieve, often with few resources and a whole host of work- this is at times heartbreaking, occasionally amusing and really paints a vivid picture of the sheer length and breadth of the different situations encountered.
The writing is sharp and involving, the events described as real as they come. I finished this with a new found respect for all of our medical staff who save lives every day. An important book to read.
February 7, 2020
“Every occupation carries its own mythology. This one has the sparkle of excitement, but don’t be dazzled. Not all flashing lights mean there’s a disco going on.”
In Can You Hear Me?, Jake Jones (writing under a pseudonym) draws on his decade of experience as a paramedic in the UK to share the reality of what he encounters each day (and night) when he dons his green uniform.
The stories are told with compassion and humour, representing the mundane and miraculous, the triumphs and tragedies. Jones effortlessly evokes emotion as he relates tussling with an uncooperative drug addict, helping an ill man into clean pyjama’s, kneeling beside a man without a pulse, and cradling a newborn in his arms.
Jones also writes of the physical and emotional stress he (and his colleagues) experience, and must learn to manage, to avoid burn-out. I found some of his musings a little tedious, interrupting the flow of the narrative, but I appreciated his honesty. Of particular note are the author’s comments about the increasing strain placed on the ambulance service caused in large part by non-emergent calls, including those which require mental health, rather than medical, intervention.
Can You Hear Me? is an interesting and thought-provoking memoir exposing the challenges of paramedic work
In Can You Hear Me?, Jake Jones (writing under a pseudonym) draws on his decade of experience as a paramedic in the UK to share the reality of what he encounters each day (and night) when he dons his green uniform.
The stories are told with compassion and humour, representing the mundane and miraculous, the triumphs and tragedies. Jones effortlessly evokes emotion as he relates tussling with an uncooperative drug addict, helping an ill man into clean pyjama’s, kneeling beside a man without a pulse, and cradling a newborn in his arms.
Jones also writes of the physical and emotional stress he (and his colleagues) experience, and must learn to manage, to avoid burn-out. I found some of his musings a little tedious, interrupting the flow of the narrative, but I appreciated his honesty. Of particular note are the author’s comments about the increasing strain placed on the ambulance service caused in large part by non-emergent calls, including those which require mental health, rather than medical, intervention.
Can You Hear Me? is an interesting and thought-provoking memoir exposing the challenges of paramedic work
October 3, 2020
A look at NHS frontlines through the eyes of a seasoned paramedic, often working alone as a first responder. This was an interesting addition to the ever growing medical memoir genre, and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the role of medics.
I felt this was an accurate account of a typical day in the life of, although the way the book was formatted left a little to be desired for me as a reader. There are long paragraphs of to-and-from dialect, which feels a bit monotonous after a while. However, the author does include plenty of analysis of the challenges of his role and the patients he meets in obscure places. This book reads as part rant, which is fully okay with me (as a nurse, I appreciate where he’s coming from!)
I felt this was an accurate account of a typical day in the life of, although the way the book was formatted left a little to be desired for me as a reader. There are long paragraphs of to-and-from dialect, which feels a bit monotonous after a while. However, the author does include plenty of analysis of the challenges of his role and the patients he meets in obscure places. This book reads as part rant, which is fully okay with me (as a nurse, I appreciate where he’s coming from!)
October 10, 2020
This is the first medical biography I have read. This was an eye opener for me in a way literature/ books really can open the views and give the side which are missing. I’ve watched many medical dramas and know they aren’t a true picture of what goes on, so this book have an insight I haven’t had before. The ending of the personal level in which he describes the incident with his dad was gripping with the reality and personal touch. Further, the updated section for the coronavirus pandemic and what the paramedics went through was an interesting perspective.
April 10, 2023
This was everything I wanted it to be. The author is a very skilled writer.
August 2, 2020
Memoir of an NHS paramedic
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/RO4Xxj9wa7g
It seems fitting to be reviewing this just as the NHS has its 72nd birthday. A much valued institution that is sadly under siege given the political and coronavirus situation in the UK at the moment.
The author writes under a pseudonym to preserve the confidentially of the people he sees. He also doesn’t reveal the location but it is clear it is somewhere in England.
For sure there is drama, interspersed with routine and frustrating call-outs. It is quite alarming to discover the high proportion of people who summon an ambulance when they really don’t need it. One woman dials 999 only for the author to turn up and discover she wants help understanding her paracetamol dosage.
Each chapter is devoted to a single situation. The author has been trained largely for physical interventions but a growing number of call-outs are for mental health issues, which need careful managing and onward referral – although resources are far too scarce to service the needs of many patients with mental health concerns.
One woman urinates on the floor of the “truck”, as they call it. Another call is to a father and son who are living amidst hoards of newspapers, and extricating the patient from his convoluted circumstances requires logistical gymnastics. Sometimes the ambulance crews have to guard their own safety, as well as those who are in their care. Paramedics and first responders perhaps don’t get the credit for the jobs they do, setting out on a call with little information, to a part of town (for the memoir is certainly set in a town) that is unknown. In the dark. They are not always welcome or welcomed with open arms. Imagine having to find your way to a flat, down an alley that is totally unfamiliar and then not really knowing what the reality is of what awaits you. It is strong stuff and require strength and grit on many occasion. The ‘can you hear me?’ of the title is the clarion call when someone appears to be out cold.
The last chapter is devoted to a personal episode in the author’s own life, and is very poignant. It also causes him to reflect on his work life and contemplate what his drives might be. It is clear from the narrative that the author is incredibly focussed on his job and driven to do what he can to have a positive input. It is overall a memoir told in sanguine terms, a peek into the lives of an ambulance crew, the rewards and the innumerable down sides of the job. It is certainly not a work choice for everyone, but let me stress, they have my utter respect and gratitude for the work they do.
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/RO4Xxj9wa7g
It seems fitting to be reviewing this just as the NHS has its 72nd birthday. A much valued institution that is sadly under siege given the political and coronavirus situation in the UK at the moment.
The author writes under a pseudonym to preserve the confidentially of the people he sees. He also doesn’t reveal the location but it is clear it is somewhere in England.
For sure there is drama, interspersed with routine and frustrating call-outs. It is quite alarming to discover the high proportion of people who summon an ambulance when they really don’t need it. One woman dials 999 only for the author to turn up and discover she wants help understanding her paracetamol dosage.
Each chapter is devoted to a single situation. The author has been trained largely for physical interventions but a growing number of call-outs are for mental health issues, which need careful managing and onward referral – although resources are far too scarce to service the needs of many patients with mental health concerns.
One woman urinates on the floor of the “truck”, as they call it. Another call is to a father and son who are living amidst hoards of newspapers, and extricating the patient from his convoluted circumstances requires logistical gymnastics. Sometimes the ambulance crews have to guard their own safety, as well as those who are in their care. Paramedics and first responders perhaps don’t get the credit for the jobs they do, setting out on a call with little information, to a part of town (for the memoir is certainly set in a town) that is unknown. In the dark. They are not always welcome or welcomed with open arms. Imagine having to find your way to a flat, down an alley that is totally unfamiliar and then not really knowing what the reality is of what awaits you. It is strong stuff and require strength and grit on many occasion. The ‘can you hear me?’ of the title is the clarion call when someone appears to be out cold.
The last chapter is devoted to a personal episode in the author’s own life, and is very poignant. It also causes him to reflect on his work life and contemplate what his drives might be. It is clear from the narrative that the author is incredibly focussed on his job and driven to do what he can to have a positive input. It is overall a memoir told in sanguine terms, a peek into the lives of an ambulance crew, the rewards and the innumerable down sides of the job. It is certainly not a work choice for everyone, but let me stress, they have my utter respect and gratitude for the work they do.
August 3, 2022
Honestly really enjoyed this book and it really did go into the eyes of a paramedic. This book definitely did change my view on them - before I didn’t really have any opinion on them but i found that now, I really respect them for their hard jobs. Just today I saw paramedics in town and I really just felt appreciation for their hard job, they really do make this world run. I would recommend this to everyone, the language is very simple and easy to read and understand so it didn’t take me too long to finish. Really enjoyed it :)
November 18, 2020
Jake has written a wonderful book here- the stories are varied (touching, heartbreaking, exasperating, eye-opening) but all come together to create a cohesive message: it’s one hell of a job.
My only negative is that we don’t really get to hear ‘the end’ to a lot of the stories and are left wondering what happened to the patient... but then again I guess that’s what it must be like in the life of a paramedic! Clever stuff!
My only negative is that we don’t really get to hear ‘the end’ to a lot of the stories and are left wondering what happened to the patient... but then again I guess that’s what it must be like in the life of a paramedic! Clever stuff!
August 1, 2021
Interesting in places but the style of the writing confused me a little. There were no speech marks and so it wasn’t always easy to follow
July 19, 2023
I was expecting little extracts from all the jobs that this author had attended to however there was a lot of other text inserted within the book which made it drag on and loose my interest, therefore only 3 stars! I did enjoy the jobs that he had written about which gives a perfect insight of life as a paramedic.
February 13, 2020
This is a solid memoir and one that I enjoyed reading, but it was just that, an enjoyable read. I didn’t find it to be earth shattering nor something that I feel I need to tell everyone they must read. Having said that, if you’re interested in the NHS ambulance service, and the lives of the paramedics that work for this service, in what these people do every day, in what type of call outs they receive and what type of injuries they attend to, then you’ll enjoy this read. Many different call-outs and cases are discussed in the book, and I found most of them to be interesting, from a woman giving birth in her tiny flat to a man who fell off a construction scaffolding and landed on his back a long way down and in among a pile of construction debris.
This is also a book that highlights the misuse of this necessary service, about how ambulances and paramedics get called out to cases that are anything but serious, and that amount to total abuse, as in one instance where the patient just needed someone to confirm that paracetamol was in fact the correct drug to take for their ailment. Very often the people who call for an ambulance just need advice, or company, or reassurance, meaning that genuine medical emergencies are put on the back burner while the ambulance is chasing around town on non-urgent calls.
What I really liked about this memoir was the fact that the author never thought of himself as any sort of hero. He often highlighted the fact that he’s just an ordinary man who got sick and tired of his office job and who needed a change. He never leads the reader to believe that helping people or becoming a paramedic was any sort of “calling”, or that it was his life-long dream.
So, overall I would say that this is a pretty good read. I liked it. I’m not sorry that I read it, but I’m now ready to move onto something else. It’s one of those books. Good (if you’re interested in the subject matter) but not necessarily memorable.
This is also a book that highlights the misuse of this necessary service, about how ambulances and paramedics get called out to cases that are anything but serious, and that amount to total abuse, as in one instance where the patient just needed someone to confirm that paracetamol was in fact the correct drug to take for their ailment. Very often the people who call for an ambulance just need advice, or company, or reassurance, meaning that genuine medical emergencies are put on the back burner while the ambulance is chasing around town on non-urgent calls.
What I really liked about this memoir was the fact that the author never thought of himself as any sort of hero. He often highlighted the fact that he’s just an ordinary man who got sick and tired of his office job and who needed a change. He never leads the reader to believe that helping people or becoming a paramedic was any sort of “calling”, or that it was his life-long dream.
So, overall I would say that this is a pretty good read. I liked it. I’m not sorry that I read it, but I’m now ready to move onto something else. It’s one of those books. Good (if you’re interested in the subject matter) but not necessarily memorable.
October 11, 2021
Incredible and very cathartic to read. As a new nurse and having trained in some emergency departments some of the feelings that make you question your personality, compassion and ability were covered so well and made me realise that despite appearances we all just do our best and look confident in what we're doing. Paramedics are bloody amazing. Loved this book.
EDIT: I've also read some criticisms of the book that 1) there is often a lot of introspection during the telling of the patient situation, 2) you don't hear what happens to the patient "after", & 3) that the writing feels jumbled as it's immediately into the next patient story.. all of which I feel are very cleverly done. In high stress situations sometimes you do have these moments of introspection, you don't ever hear about what happened to the patient or their family again, and immediately you're flung into the next situation without a moment to really grapple with the last. I felt this made the book that much more realistic and empathetic to these amazing health professionals
EDIT: I've also read some criticisms of the book that 1) there is often a lot of introspection during the telling of the patient situation, 2) you don't hear what happens to the patient "after", & 3) that the writing feels jumbled as it's immediately into the next patient story.. all of which I feel are very cleverly done. In high stress situations sometimes you do have these moments of introspection, you don't ever hear about what happened to the patient or their family again, and immediately you're flung into the next situation without a moment to really grapple with the last. I felt this made the book that much more realistic and empathetic to these amazing health professionals
January 25, 2020
As a paramedic & bookworm, I was asked by Quercus to review this book & I genuinely cannot fault it. I have met every one of its patients, felt every one of its emotions & had moments of such despondency & desperation that I’ve almost walked out of my career. But despite all of the NHS’s faults, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.
Can You Hear Me gets every aspect of the life of a paramedic right - it does not glorify it (because it certainly is not all about blood, guts & cardiac arrests) & it does not paint paramedics as heroes. As Jake points out, “we are normal people, doing a slightly abnormal thing”.
If you genuinely want to know what a paramedic does & what the job is really like, you won’t go wrong with Can You Hear Me. Loved it!
A warning that it’s penultimate chapter is extremely sad & was quite upsetting for me as I attended a similar incident last week. But if you want to know what we do, you need to know about it all.
Can You Hear Me gets every aspect of the life of a paramedic right - it does not glorify it (because it certainly is not all about blood, guts & cardiac arrests) & it does not paint paramedics as heroes. As Jake points out, “we are normal people, doing a slightly abnormal thing”.
If you genuinely want to know what a paramedic does & what the job is really like, you won’t go wrong with Can You Hear Me. Loved it!
A warning that it’s penultimate chapter is extremely sad & was quite upsetting for me as I attended a similar incident last week. But if you want to know what we do, you need to know about it all.
Read
December 20, 2022This book is the story of Jake who is a paramedic. It consists of memoirs of many cases that he has been involved in. As a fellow healthcare professional, we has been involved in emergency care, I was aware of the pressures on the ambulance service and hospitals, caused by time wasters and was so glad that this is talked about in the book to make the general public aware.
This book highlights the commitment and compassion of healthcare workers. Paramedics deal with life at the very beginning and sadly at the end of someone’s life.
I loved this book but I did feel that the writing was slightly disjointed at times.
This was a fast paced insight into the world of a paramedic.
This book highlights the commitment and compassion of healthcare workers. Paramedics deal with life at the very beginning and sadly at the end of someone’s life.
I loved this book but I did feel that the writing was slightly disjointed at times.
This was a fast paced insight into the world of a paramedic.
February 8, 2020
Loved this book!
It shows how hard a shift for a frontline lone paramedic can be, never fully knowing what you are walking into, what you will face and knowing that you will be facing someone's trauma.
I was fascinated right from the very beginning and in awe of how 'Jake' coped.
Everyone needs to read this kind of book, just to have an inkling of what they go through each shift.
It shows how hard a shift for a frontline lone paramedic can be, never fully knowing what you are walking into, what you will face and knowing that you will be facing someone's trauma.
I was fascinated right from the very beginning and in awe of how 'Jake' coped.
Everyone needs to read this kind of book, just to have an inkling of what they go through each shift.
July 15, 2020
Wow. What can I say about this book. An honest and raw account of what its like to work as a paramedic. Full of stories and glimpses of people in their most difficult moments. I loved the honesty of the changes Jake sees in himself, the job has affected him too, and I can relate to them working in the caring profession.
February 24, 2020
A truly honest depiction of life as a paramedic and all the horrors, stresses and hopes it can bring. The scene building is particularly brilliant, placing you in these near-impossible to imagine scenarios. A total triumph of a book!
December 7, 2020
Time taken to read - 1 day
Pages - 304
Publisher - Quercus
Source - Review copy
Blurb from Goodreads
A memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life as a paramedic.
A young man has stopped breathing in a supermarket toilet. A pedestrian with a nasty head injury won't let the crew near him on a busy road. A newborn baby is worryingly silent. An addict urinates on the ambulance floor when denied a fix. This is the life of an ambulance paramedic.
Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years: every day, he sees a dozen of the scenes we hope to see only once in a lifetime. Can You Hear Me? - the first thing he says when he arrives on the scene - is a memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life on the front-lines of medicine in the UK.
As well as a look into dozens of extraordinary scenes - the hoarder who won't move his collection to let his ailing father leave the house, the blood-soaked man who tries to escape from the ambulance, the life saved by a lucky crew who had been called to see someone else entirely - Can You Hear Me? is an honest examination of the strains and challenges of one of the most demanding and important jobs anyone can do.
My Review
I feel I should open with a huge THANK YOU to everyone who puts on the paramedic uniform. The book gives us a brief glimpse into the working life of the heros in green. Jones takes us through some of the things he has seen in his career over a decade, the characters he has met along the way and his relationship with his co workers.
I think every person in the UK should be reading this book, the abuse of this amazing service is utterly appalling. From Physical abuse, verbal abuse to the misuse of the system, the manipulation - some folk will be utterly horrified at the behaviour of some of our fellow humans. It also highlights the amazing work and some of the horrors these guys see day in and day out.
Not that long ago we saw bampots leaving notes on ambulances because their driveway or car was being blocked. Reading this book may make them rethink their behaviour and appreciate the (often) life saving work/treatment they are doing. But for the grace of God go I, any moment it could be us in need, our heart stopped beating or that of someone we love *touch wood* these heros need/deserve much more appreciation - actually even just respect (how bad is it this needs to be said!). Ha sorry I have went off on a rant whoops.
The book covers some heart stopping (literally) moments, some touching, some ridiculous and some that will stay with the reader long after the last page. I think stories like these are so important, especially now, people can be so self involved. This reminds us how precious life can be, how things can change on a dime and you never know what is around the corner, be kind and look after yourself, we cannot pour from an empty cup, 4/5 for me. I have bought quite a few true life healthcare type stories, hopefully get to them sooner rather than later.
Pages - 304
Publisher - Quercus
Source - Review copy
Blurb from Goodreads
A memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life as a paramedic.
A young man has stopped breathing in a supermarket toilet. A pedestrian with a nasty head injury won't let the crew near him on a busy road. A newborn baby is worryingly silent. An addict urinates on the ambulance floor when denied a fix. This is the life of an ambulance paramedic.
Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years: every day, he sees a dozen of the scenes we hope to see only once in a lifetime. Can You Hear Me? - the first thing he says when he arrives on the scene - is a memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life on the front-lines of medicine in the UK.
As well as a look into dozens of extraordinary scenes - the hoarder who won't move his collection to let his ailing father leave the house, the blood-soaked man who tries to escape from the ambulance, the life saved by a lucky crew who had been called to see someone else entirely - Can You Hear Me? is an honest examination of the strains and challenges of one of the most demanding and important jobs anyone can do.
My Review
I feel I should open with a huge THANK YOU to everyone who puts on the paramedic uniform. The book gives us a brief glimpse into the working life of the heros in green. Jones takes us through some of the things he has seen in his career over a decade, the characters he has met along the way and his relationship with his co workers.
I think every person in the UK should be reading this book, the abuse of this amazing service is utterly appalling. From Physical abuse, verbal abuse to the misuse of the system, the manipulation - some folk will be utterly horrified at the behaviour of some of our fellow humans. It also highlights the amazing work and some of the horrors these guys see day in and day out.
Not that long ago we saw bampots leaving notes on ambulances because their driveway or car was being blocked. Reading this book may make them rethink their behaviour and appreciate the (often) life saving work/treatment they are doing. But for the grace of God go I, any moment it could be us in need, our heart stopped beating or that of someone we love *touch wood* these heros need/deserve much more appreciation - actually even just respect (how bad is it this needs to be said!). Ha sorry I have went off on a rant whoops.
The book covers some heart stopping (literally) moments, some touching, some ridiculous and some that will stay with the reader long after the last page. I think stories like these are so important, especially now, people can be so self involved. This reminds us how precious life can be, how things can change on a dime and you never know what is around the corner, be kind and look after yourself, we cannot pour from an empty cup, 4/5 for me. I have bought quite a few true life healthcare type stories, hopefully get to them sooner rather than later.
February 3, 2025
Jake Jones is very honest as he recounts his memoirs of working as a paramedic for over 10 years. The book gives an insight into this fascinating profession, documenting the trials and tribulations of frontline medical work. There is a very honest documentation of the author’s own feelings and philosophical outlook on society and life in general as well. It is well written and I found myself invested in each patient he treated in every chapter.
There’s no necessity to have read the chapters in any particular order as each one was very self-contained. This I found was a dual edged sword. I couldn’t get lost in the book and wouldn’t call it a page turner. However it was very easy to dip in and dip out of and made great casual reading in intense bursts.
This book is a privileged and honest insight into what is a heroic and honourable profession.
There’s no necessity to have read the chapters in any particular order as each one was very self-contained. This I found was a dual edged sword. I couldn’t get lost in the book and wouldn’t call it a page turner. However it was very easy to dip in and dip out of and made great casual reading in intense bursts.
This book is a privileged and honest insight into what is a heroic and honourable profession.
January 31, 2023
Now I love a medical memoir type book, so seeing this based on tales of a paramedic and the different and vast range of jobs they experience peaked my interest straight away. Unfortunately I was somewhat let down.
For the first half of the book there seemed to be a lack of flow and at times it was quite messy. Outlining a patient they are seeing too and then mid story going into his major career change from an office job. I would have liked to hear more about his journey, his career change etc but that was never brought to any head, just little drop ins here and there. This made it difficult to form a full picture.
Following that, some of the stories seemed quite vague, again making it difficult to form a full picture. For example, a middle aged man stuck on the floor obviously has a medical condition which has caused his lack of movement but you don’t get told what that is.
Again within the stories, some important issues were flagged like the flaws in the system, for example, mental health crises. However, these points could have been developed more to understand the scale of those and the impacts they have on a wider scale.
That being said, the book did improve and it has highlighted the real magnitude of what paramedics do whilst putting the authors very honest opinion on it, like dealing with imposter syndrome and at times doubting if it is worth some of the sacrifices.
One last afterthought, if the chapters were given the titles along the book rather then just at the contents I think this would help it become more of a page turner to find out what the next story would entail.
For the first half of the book there seemed to be a lack of flow and at times it was quite messy. Outlining a patient they are seeing too and then mid story going into his major career change from an office job. I would have liked to hear more about his journey, his career change etc but that was never brought to any head, just little drop ins here and there. This made it difficult to form a full picture.
Following that, some of the stories seemed quite vague, again making it difficult to form a full picture. For example, a middle aged man stuck on the floor obviously has a medical condition which has caused his lack of movement but you don’t get told what that is.
Again within the stories, some important issues were flagged like the flaws in the system, for example, mental health crises. However, these points could have been developed more to understand the scale of those and the impacts they have on a wider scale.
That being said, the book did improve and it has highlighted the real magnitude of what paramedics do whilst putting the authors very honest opinion on it, like dealing with imposter syndrome and at times doubting if it is worth some of the sacrifices.
One last afterthought, if the chapters were given the titles along the book rather then just at the contents I think this would help it become more of a page turner to find out what the next story would entail.
June 9, 2020
“They’ll be many more that went tiger hunting and found rabbits”
Yawn, I really was looking froward to reading this one but I felt let down by it to be honest. I was glad to have finished it and moved on to something a bit more interesting. I can’t say any of the stories really excited me, one thing I did take away from this book is realising just how much abuse the NHS and the staff put up with, which is sad. :(
Yawn, I really was looking froward to reading this one but I felt let down by it to be honest. I was glad to have finished it and moved on to something a bit more interesting. I can’t say any of the stories really excited me, one thing I did take away from this book is realising just how much abuse the NHS and the staff put up with, which is sad. :(
June 14, 2020
I enjoy reading medical memoirs and this was an interesting read. Jake tells about how he became a paramedic and gives an insight into life in an ambulance and as a fast responder. Jake tells this with respect and dignity.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
May 30, 2025
Boring tbh I didn’t find a lot in this that grabbed me, I ended up skimming most of the chapter where his dad went missing at the end cause I was bored out of my mind and just stopped reading. Was some fine enough stories but nothing crazy and unusual or horrifying by any means
December 15, 2020
a little too theatrical and unnecessarily dramatic for me but still a fun read :)
June 18, 2025
Good read. I always like this style of book.
March 31, 2020
I enjoy NHS memoirs and this one didn’t let me down. Informative, humorous and emotional. Not the best one that I’ve read but still very enjoyable.
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