As far as I'm concerned, every call we get is a bad call by definition. Who calls an ambulance unless something bad has happened in the first place. From that point on, it's simply a matter of degree.

When I was in my very early twenties, I worked for a while as part of the HR team for a hospital. My boss had worked on an ambulance for a time in his late teens/early twenties, much like Mike Scardino here, and over our lunch breaks, sometimes he'd regale me with a few gruesome tales. Don't get me wrong — I find no comfort in the thought of the average human being suffering — but there's something incredibly intriguing about these stories. Needless to say, when I learned this former ambulance attendant had written an entire book about his experiences, on the old TBR it went — and I'm glad it did.

Scardino's writing style fits the stories perfectly: blunt and to the point, brimming with cynicism and deadpan, and leaving little room for flowers and poetry. It adds a flair of real authenticity as it feels truly like you're being told this guy's memories and experiences, not dolled-up dramatics for the sake of selling a book. Many of the stories don't have endings at all, so you're left wondering about a lot of these folks. In other stories, sometimes you wish you didn't know. There are a few emotional ones, but mostly it's a bit awe-inspiring.

Needless to say, I recommend this for people whose stomachs don't turn easily, as Scardino doesn't shy away from the gritty details. I'm almost impossible to perturb, honestly, and there's a story in this book that even had me gagging a little (if you've read it: hands held out the window and piles of blankets, that's all I'll say).

content warnings: descriptions of gore, death, illness, child/baby death, abuse, assault, rape, racism, misogyny, mental illness, body-shaming (very brief)