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A Second Act

What Nearly Dying Teaches Us About Really Living
Brief Description
I’ve worked as a doctor for over twenty years, caring for patients who are in the thick fog between life and death. I’ve met hundreds of people who have died, were resuscitated and lived. I’ve long thought that these are the people that we should be... Read More
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

I’ve worked as a doctor for over twenty years, caring for patients who are in the thick fog between life and death. I’ve met hundreds of people who have died, were resuscitated and lived. I’ve long thought that these are the people that we should be listening to, not influencers or business gurus. They know what really matters.

Dr Matt Morgan has met hundreds of people who’ve come back from the dead. Their hearts stopped, their bodies unresponsive, rescued from the brink of death by the modern intensive care techniques he specialises in.

People like Ed, who was walking through a park when there was a bang, a bright light and then nothing. Ed had been hit by a bolt of lightning – 300 million volts, enough to power a city for a day, coursed through his body, short-circuiting his heart. Ed was given life-saving CPR and he survived. He lives a little differently now, every day knowing the thin margins that separate life and death.

In A Second Act, Morgan introduces us to patients who’ve experienced hypothermia, overdoses, heart attacks and transplants to see how their lives have been transformed by the second chance they’ve been given. He shares the lessons they’ve learned, along with his own realisations about life and how to make the most of it. Life shouldn’t be wasted on the living.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781398544499

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 16 January 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Simon & Schuster UK

Edition: ANZ Only

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Dr Matt Morgan is a British intensive care doctor. His open letter addressed to patients during the 2020 COVID pandemic has been read by over half a million people worldwide and viewed by over two million times after featuring on the Channel 4 news. His articles have featured in the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Sunday Mirror and Huffington Post. A regular writer for the internationally acclaimed British Medical Journal, his article 'A letter from the ICU' is one of their most popular ever opinion article, read by over 130,000 people in 2020. His first book, Critical, has been translated into four languages. He lives in Cardiff with his family, enjoys long dog walks, photography, cold beer and even colder ice cream.

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  • Critical
    Immerse yourself in the gripping world of intensive care medicine with Critical by Dr. Matt Morgan, a poignant exploration of the highs and lows experienced within the ICU. In Critical, Dr. Matt Morgan takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the intensive care unit, sharing the deeply personal stories of the patients who have touched his life. The narrative elegantly...
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  • One Medicine
    Has an animal saved your life? Studying Arctic birds helped resuscitate those suffering from hypothermia. An ECG on the 150kg heart of a humpback whale has extended the lives of patients with heart failure. Understanding giraffes' long necks has led to improved asthma treatment. Learning how animals survive and thrive has led to life-saving advances for human health. But we...
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  • One Medicine
    It all started with a Hob Nob. As Dr Matt Morgan, an intensive care consultant, examined a patient who had suffered a cardiac arrest after inhaling some biscuit crumbs, he saw a flock of birds fly past the window. They must inhale objects all the time when flying, how do they survive? he thought to himself. This began an investigation...
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