Adam Kay

Author

Adam Kay is a British author, comedian, and former junior doctor whose memoir This Is Going to Hurt became one of the bestselling non-fiction books of the decade and a cultural phenomenon that changed the way millions of people think about the National Health Service and the doctors who work within it. Born in 1980, Kay studied Medicine... and trained as a junior doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology in NHS hospitals. He left medicine after a traumatic experience on the ward and pivoted to a career in comedy and writing, performing stand-up and writing for television. This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor was published in 2017 and is based on the diaries Kay kept during his time working in the NHS. The book is by turns hilarious, heartbreaking, and enraging — a vivid account of the impossible hours, the bureaucratic absurdities, and the extraordinary human moments that define life as a junior doctor. It sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK alone, was translated into thirty-seven languages, and became the basis for a critically acclaimed BBC television series starring Ben Whishaw. Kay's writing is sharp, honest, and very funny — he captures the gallows humour that sustains doctors through impossible shifts, the poignancy of birth and death, and the slow-burning anger that comes from watching a healthcare system stretched beyond its limits. The book became an essential text in the debate about NHS funding and doctors' working conditions. Kay's Anatomy, written for children and illustrated by Henry Paker, brought his gift for making medicine entertaining and accessible to younger readers, becoming a bestselling children's non-fiction title. The audiobook edition of This Is Going to Hurt, narrated by Kay himself, is outstanding. His comic timing and emotional delivery make the audiobook even more powerful than the printed version — listeners describe laughing and crying in rapid succession, sometimes simultaneously. Adam Kay continues to write and perform. His books and audiobooks are essential for anyone who wants to understand what it really feels like to work in the NHS — and why the people who do deserve so much more recognition than they get. Read more Show less