Rachel Clarke

Author

Rachel Clarke is a British author, physician, and former journalist whose books about life and death in the NHS have made her one of the most important and powerful medical writers in the UK. Her work combines the narrative skill of a former broadcast journalist with the clinical insight and emotional depth of a doctor who works at the... frontline of care. Born in 1972, Clarke had a first career as a current affairs journalist, covering Al Qaeda, the Gulf War, and the Second Congo War, before entering medical school in 2003 at the age of thirty-one. She qualified as a doctor in 2009 and now specialises in palliative and end-of-life care, working at Great Western Hospital. Your Life in My Hands (2017) was her first book — a memoir about life as a newly qualified doctor navigating the pressures, exhaustion, and emotional weight of the NHS. Dear Life (2020) explored death, dying, and end-of-life care with extraordinary tenderness and honesty, drawing on her work in palliative medicine to write about the most profound human experiences with clarity and compassion. Breathtaking (2021) was her account of working inside the NHS during the first wave of COVID-19 — a first-hand testimony of what healthcare workers endured during the pandemic, including interviews with colleagues, patients, and their families. The book was adapted into a major television series for ITV in 2024, nominated for a Royal Television Society Award. Clarke writes with a journalist's precision and a doctor's understanding of the human body and spirit. Her books are acts of witness — testaments to the courage of NHS staff and to the dignity of patients in their most vulnerable moments. The audiobook editions of Clarke's books are deeply moving, capturing the intensity and humanity of her writing. Her books and audiobooks are essential for anyone who wants to understand what it means to care for people at the most critical moments of their lives. Read more Show less