Seven Signs of Life

A brilliant, compelling account of what it is like to spend your days caring for patients “on the fringe of existence” … A hugely life-affirming book. In between the many grim situations encountered on a daily basis, Abbey shows us moments of both joy and deep emotional connection – Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *Heartfelt, honest, illuminating and wise – a wonderful book that I would urge everyone to read – Julia Samuel, author of Grief WorksA powerful glimpse into the high stakes of intensive care …Above all this book is insightful about the grey areas where a doctor must go … Some readers may be wearying of doctor memoirs. This one … has a freshness and a sincerity that moved me. She is a gifted writer … honest, compassionate, sensitive… [and] the doctor we would crave in our greatest need – Melanie Reid * The Times *Abbey’s book stands out among the current crop of doctor-penned memoirs for its thoughtful, compassionate reflections on life in Intensive Care. Abbey presents the usual case studies with an unusual depth of feeling and evident love for those in her care. She may be in the earlier stages of her career, but the author writes with a maturity and vocational fervour well beyond her years. An unsung classic of the genreA thoughtful and necessary book about a world all of us might inhabit at some point in our lives – Rosita Boland * Irish Times *A wonderfully frank assessment of the emotions shared – and unshared – between doctors and their patients … Dr Abbey writes movingly … and asks us all to think about what we want for ourselves at the end. * Daily Mail *A wonderfully frank assessment of the emotions shared – and unshared – between doctors and their patients … Dr Abbey writes movingly … and asks us all to think about what we want for ourselves at the end. * Daily Mail *Bold, courageous and most welcome … Abbey imparts a wisdom concerning human emotional life that is sophisticated, and also simple and poignant … Abbey is brave; she is lion-hearted in her no-holes-barred account of what it is like to care for a living … If she is representative of an emerging generation of healthcare professionals, there is reason to be optimistic for the future of healthcare. – Paul D’Alton * Irish Times *A sensitive, honest, unsentimental and, yes, brave piece of writing that makes for compulsive reading – NIGELLA LAWSONA beautiful insight into the extraordinary highs and lows of intensive care. Dr Aoife Abbey writes with such sensitivity and obvious kindness about the emotions that define us all, doctors and patients alike. I was deeply moved by this wonderful book. – Rachel Clarke, author of YOUR LIFE IN MY HANDS

Aoife Abbey grew up in Dublin, Ireland. She completed an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, before graduating in 2011 from medical school at Warwick University. She is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, Fellow of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and council member at the Intensive Care Society UK. From September 2016, Aoife Abbey wrote a blog under the guise of the British Medical Association’s ‘Secret Doctor’. This is her first book.