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Breaking & Mending: A junior doctor’s stories of compassion & burnout (Wellcome Collection) by [Joanna Cannon]

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Joanna Cannon

Breaking & Mending: A junior doctor’s stories of compassion & burnout (Wellcome Collection) Kindle Edition

by Joanna Cannon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

347 ratings

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'One of the most moving, compelling books I've ever read' Marian Keyes
'One of the most beautiful books you will ever read' Kate Mosse
'I tore through Breaking and Mending... frank, emotional and compassionate' David Nicholls
'Powerful and moving' Nina Stibbe
'Deeply moving and thought-provoking' Nathan Filer
'Powerful, shocking and intimate' John Boyne
'The story of the struggling NHS has been told in several excellent books recently, and this is among the best. We need to listen.' Katy Guest, Guardian
'I will be buying Breaking & Mending today and you should too' Adam Kay
'Breathtaking' Christie Watson, Telegraph

"A few years ago, I found myself in A&E.

I had never felt so ill. I was mentally and physically broken. So fractured, I hadn't eaten properly or slept well, or even changed my expression for months. I sat in a cubicle, behind paper-thin curtains and I shook with the effort of not crying. I was an inch away from defeat... but I knew I had to carry on.

Because I wasn't the patient. I was the doctor."

In this powerful memoir, Joanna Cannon tells her story as a junior doctor in visceral, heart-rending snapshots.

We walk with her through the wards, facing extraordinary and daunting moments: from attending her first post-mortem, sitting with a patient through their final moments, to learning the power of a well- or badly chosen word. These moments, and the small sustaining acts of kindness and connection that punctuate hospital life, teach her that emotional care and mental health can be just as critical as restoring a heartbeat.

In a profession where weakness remains a taboo, this moving, beautifully written book brings to life the vivid, human stories of doctors and patients - and shows us why we need to take better care of those who care for us.

Length: 174 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $8.49 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

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Product description

Review

I tore through Breaking and Mending... frank, emotional and compassionate -- David Nicholls

One of the most beautiful books you will ever read -- Kate Mosse

Joanna Cannon's powerful, moving memoir of her time as a junior doctor is so good. -- Nina Stibbe

Now a best-selling writer, Cannon's stories of her time as a junior doctor explore how humans can give each other hope and compassion in even the darkest of moments. -- Jameela Jamil ― Stylist

The story of the struggling NHS has been told in several excellent books recently, and this is among the best. We need to listen. -- Katy Guest ― Guardian

In Breaking and Mending, [Joanna Cannon] brings her literary talents to her previous career in a memoir brimming with her trademark compassion and psychological insight. ... What sets Cannon's book apart is not just its humanity and wisdom but the novelist's keen observational eye. Cannon is a chronicler both of the human condition and the quotidian details - the clothes, the tics, the sights, sounds, smells and ephemera - which speak to who we are. -- Hannah Beckerman ― Observer Published On: 2019-09-22

Before she became a novelist, Cannon worked as a doctor. Here, she recalls her days on the wards in the most moving way. -- Anna Bonet ― Red

This raw and emotional memoir ... is full of depth and insight, and made me so grateful to all those who work in healthcare. -- Nina Pottell ― Prima

Powerful, shocking and intimate all at the same time -- John Boyne

I will be buying Breaking & Mending today and you should too -- Adam Kay, author of THIS IS GOING TO HURT --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Joanna Cannon is the bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, which was published in 15 countries, and sold over 250,000 copies in the UK alone. Jo's love of narrative had always drawn her to psychiatry, but it wasn't until her thirties that she decided to go back to university to study medicine. Before specialising in psychiatry, she rotated through a series of hospital jobs, from the chaos of A&E to the handkerchief quiet of palliative care.

Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, it connects science, medicine, life and art. Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books explore a diverse range of subjects, including consciousness, forensic medicine, emotions, sexology, identity and death. wellcomecollection.org --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN : B07GH9NYXM
Publisher : Wellcome Collection; Main edition (26 September 2019)
Language : English
File size : 444 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 174 pages
Page numbers source ISBN : 1788160576

Best Sellers Rank: 17,813 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 200 in Memoirs (Kindle Store)
- 442 in Medicine & Nursing
- 541 in Science, Nature & Maths

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347 ratings

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Top review from Australia

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Everyone has a story

Reviewed in Australia on 3 August 2020

This book is an eye opener into the emotional impact of the training and reality of life as a doctor. A reality where a lot is learnt on the job and carries the burden of an image promoted by the media. Where the magic and breathless excitement of those wanting to make a difference by helping to save lives can quickly fade. Doctors are born into a world where society expects their doctors to cope and many learn there is a huge gap between theory and practice.
My favourite quote from the book was ‘we read stories to make sense of the world, to better understand our own situations and challenges’ Location 1345.
The author left school at 15, returned to study in her thirties and completed her medical training. After a life of experiences which included worry, laughter, despair and some things you don’t/cant forget she switched to psychology. Told with compassion and displays of resilience this is her story.
A great book guaranteed to educate and hold your attention. I recommend this to anyone in the medical field and the general public.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

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cladonald

"Words are never, ever, just words."

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2019

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“Words are never, ever, just words.” Joanna Cannon writes this in the context of giving a diagnosis but it could equally apply to her writing. There is no spare word in this book, no word which doesn’t carry the reader forward on their journey as they join her on a retrospective reflection on her life as a medical student and junior doctor.

This is one of the most thought-provoking books I have read in a long time. Dr Cannon lays herself as bare as the cadaver that accompanied her through medical school, exposing her own vulnerability that readers might learn the brutal reality of her chosen profession for someone who is clearly so innately compassionate and empathetic.

As a former nurse, I found this to be quite a painful read at times as it triggered memories of the medical students I encountered who didn’t have the wherewithal to complete their studies because they were too caring of their patients but couldn’t apply that same compassion to themselves – how they would have benefitted from the wise words in this slim volume.

Although it makes for harrowing reading at times, it is ultimately a compulsive and emphatically positive book and should be compulsory reading for every medical and nursing student – or anyone considering those paths. I would also recommend the book to patients (that’s most of us at some time!) as it takes any apparent glamour out of a doctor’s job and replaces it with compassionate reality in a very accessible and humane form.

“I strongly believe in the power of words, to heal and mend,” Cannon writes, and in this book she does exactly that, transferring her skills from the wards to her words.

23 people found this helpful

L. J. Roach

Heartbreaking and candid.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2019

Verified Purchase

I love a good memoir. Cannon’s memoir is not just good. It’s astounding. I read it over a couple of hours and would’ve been more than happy if it’d been 100 pages longer.

Cannon describes her experience of deciding to return to study as a mature student, not to do just any degree, but to become a medical doctor. A huge, enduring task which I, personally, wouldn’t ever entertain.

Cannon’s recollection of her studies and years as a junior doctor are as heartbreaking as they are candid. She is honest about her views which have changed over time and the impact doctors have on their patients, medically and physically. Moreover, she is in no way melodramatic or self-interested – she writes how I think her to be – introspective and wise.

This book means a lot at any time, but in a world where the NHS is being degraded and so many people are suffering burnout, it serves as a stark reminder that we must be compassionate – towards others, but also towards ourselves.

Everyone has a book or two which stays with them. This will be one of those books for me; it’s up there with my other favourite medical memoirs (of which I’ve read many!) – I’ve no doubt I’ll be returning to it in the future.

You’ll like this book if you enjoyed:

When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi
This is going to Hurt – Adam Kay
Being Mortal – Atul Gawande
Unnatural Causes – Richard Shepherd
War Doctor – David Nott

18 people found this helpful

Dr Owen

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2019

Verified Purchase

Reading this as a doctor myself, there were so many points that chimed with my own experiences - and as an older doctor who trained some decades ago, I felt very sad for how poorly the new F1/F2 docs are looked after.
This is a book that does more than ‘ring true’; it is is totally engaging and reflects the truths of the current NHS. I laughed ... and cried ... as it made me recall so many similar situations from my own work experiences.
I passed it on to my daughter who has just completed her F1/F2 years - she read the book in a day - and laughed ..... and cried just as I did, and just as many others will as well.
It’s a ‘must buy’ book!

10 people found this helpful

Donny Rock

Too personal a view

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 October 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a somewhat vague memoir of Britain's NHS through her studentship and junior doctor roles. Perhaps she should remember that no health service is perfect. To me, this is a prolonged moan about the system in which she works and an equally prolonged monologue of self-adulation and self-pity.

10 people found this helpful

Liz Fox

Honest account of life as a junior doctor.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2019

Verified Purchase

Wonderfully written,only wished It could have been available whilst I was training to be a nurse and midwife....I cannot believe how similar the experiences and emotions.Caring for patients was filled with moments of sadness but also incredibly interesting and worthwhile never boring.However I to endured unnecessary criticism and unkind words from some colleagues. This book should be part of the reading list for all persons training in the medical field.

4 people found this helpful

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