How to Treat People

When Molly Case's father is admitted for major cardiac surgery on the high dependency unit she works on as a nurse, their two worlds collide, as Molly supports him through the fear and uncertainty of diagnosis and recovery. Structured around the standard nursing examination of a critically unwell patient, ABCDE (Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability and Exposure), How to Treat People delves into what it means to care, and what really matters to us when we are at our most vulnerable.

Weaving medical history, biography, family life and poetry, How to Treat People explores the oscillating rhythms of human experience, the importance of what we impart and the legacies we leave behind - a memoir that reminds us what it is to be human.

“Case's empathy and compassion are everywhere evident in this beautifully written narrative”

How to Treat People gets to the heart of who we are - how we live and also how we die. I was moved twice over - by the work Molly does as a nurse every day, and by the book she has written Intense, powerful, moving and very enlightening on what it means to be a nurse. I loved its endless curiosity about the language of medicine and the practice of care. It seemed infused with a love and respect for the profession itself A profound reflection on the way we live and die Bookseller The moments of empathy and kindness in extreme, tragic situations form the focal point of Case's book, which weaves together science and storytelling Red Magazine What differentiates How to Treat People from other cracking doctor and nurse memoirs already out there is Case's youth and her outstanding use of language. Her charm is her generation's charm: open, loving, bold, inquisitive, caring. May she inspire her contemporaries to join her in a vital job The Times Case's book will restore your faith . . . She illuminates the fascinating and never-ending loop of care in a hospital New York Times The tandem stories of Case as nurse and daughter exert the pull of a novel through pages threaded with philosophy and history, ethics and etymology Sunday Telegraph Molly Case reminds us that humanity and moments of true care are as healing as the medicine modern science can deliver Poetic and compassionate, offering a joyous celebration of life Sunday Times best memoirs of 2019 Beautifully written and passionate tales from the nurse you would choose for yourself This fascinating and erudite book takes us through one woman's lovely relationship with her father interspersed with poignant and searing tales from the world of the nurse, as these two worlds move towards an emotional collision. Molly has treated us to a book that gets to the heart (literally) of a nurse's life. As well as being informative, moving and so interesting, it is a bloody good read. Anyone who needs any more convincing that the NHS is our most invaluable asset will find that many times over within the pages of this book -- Jo Brand Written with a poet's ear for language and a nurse's compassionate heart. It will make you cry, and it will buoy your faith in humanity Stylist Sunday Times

Molly Case is a nurse born and brought up in south London. A spoken word artist, she achieved national recognition after performing her poem 'Nursing the Nation' at the Royal College of Nursing, gaining over 350,000 views on YouTube in just a few months. Molly has appeared in the Guardian, the Independent, The Times, Ellemagazine and Huffington Post, and was named in the Health Service Journal's Inspirational Women list and the BBC's 100 Women list. Her debut collection of poetry, Underneath the Roses Where I Remembered Everything, was published in 2015.

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