A Story That Won’t Collect Dust on Your Shelf: This Is Going To Hurt

MARION VESPREY | APRIL 26, 2021

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A book with the words—This Is Going To Hurt— sprawled across its cover in large, intimidating font, may not seem like your average book. However, this book is far from average. 

As of the writing of this post, This Is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of A Junior Doctor has amassed a rating of 4.4 stars by over 180,000 users on Goodreads. Moreover, author Adam Kay has won three awards at the National Book Awards following the publication of this book:

• Popular Nonfiction Book Of The Year

• New Writer Of The Year

• Book Club Book Of The Year

What’s So Special About This Is Going To Hurt?

Part of what makes This Is Going To Hurt so influential is that it is composed of the diary entries written by Adam Kay during the course of his years as a junior doctor. 

To quote Kay, the book includes reminiscences of the “funny and the mundane,” but also the moments that were in retrospect “extreme and unreasonable” during his 97-hour work weeks. Yes, you read that right—97 hours. While this book is nonfiction, it certainly reads like fiction.

As a doctor-turned-comedian, these two professions whose work are commonly seen as incongruous come together to form the foundation of this 288-page novel. Despite the stressful nature of the job, Kay miraculously finds a way to reveal his humorous, sarcastic side in a field often viewed to be technical and unrelenting.

I Don’t Like Reading — What’s In It For Me?

Adding reading to your weekend to-do list may not be ideal for some. Fortunately, This Is Going To Hurt is in easy-to-read format (although maybe not emotionally), with an estimated reading time of three hours.

This Is Going To Hurt is a book that does the job of immersing readers into a story a little too well. Not only does it raise awareness of the high burnout rate among healthcare workers, but it also highlights society’s ignorance of the often behind-the-scenes nature of their work.

It is a book that simply does not lose its touch even after being read, reread, and then reread again. For anyone looking for a laugh or a painstakingly honest look into the National Health Care system, be warned...this is going to hurt.