Thanks, Kev

Long before it was trendy to thank healthcare workers, our author was slogging through his nights, navigating between the patients who needed him, the doctors who were disdainful of him, unmentionable bodily fluids assailing him, and potential physical threats awaiting him at his destinations. Such is the life of the EMT and (para)medics who we just assume will be there if we call. I'm guilty, too. This book does a good job of taking you through the emotional highs and lows, the macabre humor, and the inescapable sorrow that comes with a job like this one. These people are not paid enough for this. Nevertheless, Kevin delivers this narration of his decade-long tenure in the emergency medical field with heart and humor, helping us want to keep going. Probably a lot like his ambulance work. I'll bet he was a dang good medic. Hats off.

Oddly Compelling

This book starts out with the definition of alexithymia (the inability to identify and express one's feelings--heard of it? I sure hadn't) and takes off from there. Despite his glaring differences from the norm, he is able to draw in another of the school's misfits, and this connection is a pivotal point in his life. Since this problem was only identified in the 1970s, I found myself wondering how many people I'd met who had it, and how I might have thought of them had I known. Kinda makes one cringe, right?

A Genius Remembered

This little book does a good job of chronicling Mozart's development as a composer and man. It also tells of some of the heartache he experienced as a result of his constant efforts to please his father, and still be his own person. Serviceable, but didn't really bring him to life for me. Kudos for research, but the delivery was a bit dry. I'll just keep listening and let his music tell me the story instead.