An Observer, New Statesman, Financial Times, Irish Times and Scotsman 2021 Non-Fiction Highlight
On the pandemic's forgotten front lines, a doctor cares for his community - from care homes to homeless shelters, islands to the inner city.
13 January, 2020.
A bulletin from Health Protection Scotland is sent to all GP practices, describing a 'novel Wuhan coronavirus'. 'Current reports describe no evidence of significant human to human transmission, including no infections of healthcare workers,' it says reassuringly.
In Intensive Care, GP Gavin Francis will take you beyond the headlines to the reality of the pandemic response, from his surgery in Edinburgh to care homes and remote and fragile island communities. And inside this compelling narrative of missed opportunities, tragedies and occasional triumphs, he weaves the wider history of medical practice, pandemics and vaccines.
This deeply personal account of medicine in a time of crisis is also an intelligent, compassionate study of what pandemics can do to us - and what we can do about them.
About the Author
Gavin Francis is a GP, and the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Adventures in Human Being and Shapeshifters. He has won the Scottish Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize and Costa Prize. He also writes for the Guardian, the Times, London Review of Books and Granta. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and children.
Industry Reviews
'Well written, often entertaining and occasionally deeply moving; an unmissable account of a year we will all try too hard to forget.'
The Times
'Inspiring. I can't recommend it too strongly. You will learn a lot from it, and you will find much more that is encouraging.'
Allan Massie, Scotsman
