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Life in the Balance

A Doctor’s Stories of Intensive Care

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Life in the Balance

By: Dr Jim Down
Narrated by: Dr Jim Down
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A frank and unflinching account of intensive care medicine.

In these stories, Dr Jim Down brings us to the very heart of the intensive care unit - the section of the hospital where the sickest patients are brought to be cared for until their condition improves. With honesty, humility and a streak of dark humour, Dr Down describes the quietly heroic work of doctors and nurses on the ICU, a place which sits at the cutting edge of medical technology and where a split-second decision can make the difference between life and death.

From headline-grabbing cases like that of Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned by Russian agents and admitted to Down's ward, to the appalling aftermath of a train crash, Life in the Balance offers an inside glimpse of intensive care medicine, its immense challenges, deleterious effects on doctors' mental health and enormous rewards. Its profundity will make you reconsider the fragility of life and reframe your understanding of what it means to care.

©2023 Jim Down (P)2023 Penguin Audio Emergency & Critical Care Medical Medicine & Health Care Industry Professionals & Academics Inspiring Thought-Provoking Health care Hospital

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Critic reviews

"If Jim Down is as good a doctor as he is a writer, I'd definitely want him treating me." (John O'Farrell, author and scriptwriter)

"A remarkably honest memoir of a life spent pulling people back from death." (Adam Kay)

"Whether treating famous Russian spies, the victims of terrorist attacks, or people taken close to death by Covid, he shows us what it's really like to care for those who are clinging to life, and describes with unflinching honesty the toll that working in intensive care can take on his own mental health." (Alastair Campbell)
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Life in the balance provides intimate insight into the life of an ICU aneathatist, it's worth every minute.

Excellent

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Nicely written and read . Love the stories that merge gently into each other bringing scenarios of life, death and in between.

An amazing story about, work , life & mind in the ICU world

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Detailed and enjoyable. I learnt a lot about just how hard decisions iwithn an ICU stting are. recommended

Great memoir

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read this whilst coming to terms with my brother's terminal diagnosis. provided comfort and a few giggles along the way.

compassionate and informative

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I totally agree with the previous reviewer. This book is not just a succession of interesting ICU case histories, although there are plenty of those. Beyond that, it explores the tangle of ethics behind difficult decisions that need to be made every day in the ICU, and I found it incredibly illuminating and thought provoking. Jim Down writes with commendable humility and honesty, as well as compassion and also humour when warranted. His narration is easy to listen to and, for me, added authenticity to the tenor of the content. I have also listened to his previous book about the Covid pandemic, and both books are riveting and well-written. I don't know if he has any more books in him, but I will certainly be there in the queue if another one is advertised in the future.

A faultless book.

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A brilliantly written and related tale of a life in ICU. The humanity and honesty shines through sometimes heart-rending tales. Thoroughly recommended if you have even the slightest interest in medical tales.

humane and honest

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An insightful look at ICU and the NHS daily grind, kept me interested the whole listen.

Great Read

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Really enjoyed listening to the author talk about his experiences within the NHS, gave me a new understanding of the excellent work that takes place everyday in our hospitals.

Excellent insight to NHS intensive care.

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Wonderfully balanced and thought provoking insight into life and processes of an intensivist. It wasn’t what I expected but turned out to be much better. Congratulations

Beautiful book

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The writing, story and narration were all great. Quite the insight.

I wish Audible didn’t insist on 15 words for a review…….I’d said all I wanted in the first sentence, so this is just filler!

Excellent, really excellent!

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