How to Read Adam Kay’s Memoirs: The Recommended Reading Path
Adam Kay’s rise to literary fame began with his diaries as a junior doctor in the UK's National Health Service (NHS). If you are diving into his adult non-fiction, we highly recommend following the publication order. While these memoirs describe overlapping eras of his life and career, they are written to build upon one another, tracing his initial medical training, his grueling years on the wards, his eventual exit from the profession, and his life afterward.
- This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor (2017): The essential starting point. This book compiled Kay’s real-life diaries from 2004 to 2010 during his training and work as an obstetrician and gynecologist. It balances laugh-out-loud medical mishaps with the crushing, systemic stress that ultimately drove him to quit.
- 'Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (2019): A festive companion piece. This shorter sequel collects diaries specifically from the Christmas and New Year shifts Kay worked. It is best read second, serving as a delightful (and occasionally gross) expansion of his junior doctor years.
- Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients (2022): The direct chronological follow-up. This memoir reflects on his medical school days, looks back at the traumatic events of his departure from medicine, and tracks his subsequent career as a comedy writer, scriptwriter, and public advocate.
Publication Order vs. Chronological Order
While the publication order is the most satisfying way to read his memoirs, the chronological timeline of Adam Kay's life wraps around them in a slightly different sequence. If you want to follow his life chronologically, the structure looks like this:
- Undoctored (Part 1): Covers his early life, family context (his father was also a doctor), and his initial medical school training starting in 1998.
- This Is Going to Hurt: Details his residency and work on the front lines of the NHS from 2004 until his resignation in 2010.
- 'Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas: Occurs entirely within the 2004–2010 window, highlighting his holiday shifts.
- Undoctored (Part 2): Explores his post-2010 life, dealing with PTSD, entering the entertainment industry, and processing the emotional aftermath of his medical career.
For the best experience, stick to the publication order. This Is Going to Hurt establishes the emotional stakes and the gallows humor, while Undoctored provides the deep reflective context that makes sense only after you have witnessed his struggles on the wards.
The "Kay's Anatomy" Children's Series
In addition to adult memoirs, Adam Kay has written a wildly popular series of educational children's books focused on the human body, history, and science. These books are illustrated by Henry Paker and are packed with Kay's signature gross-out humor, making them highly engaging for younger readers. While they are standalones, they are best read in order of release:
- Kay's Anatomy: A Complete (and Completely Disgusting) Guide to the Human Body (2020): An interactive, humorous tour of how the human organs work.
- Kay's Marvellous Medicine: A Complete (and History's Most Gruesome) Guide to the Human Body (2021): A look back at the bizarre, dangerous, and disgusting ways humans tried to cure illnesses in the past.
- Kay's Brilliant Brains (2023): A World Book Day special focusing on the wonders of the human brain.
- Kay's Incredible Inventions (2023): A fun and educational look at history's most mind-boggling and accidental inventions.
Children's Fiction and Picture Books
Expanding his children's bibliography, Kay has introduced fictional stories and picture books for younger kids:
- Amy Gets Eaten (2023): A picture book illustrated by Henry Paker that tells the anatomically accurate (but very funny) story of a piece of sweetcorn's journey through the human digestive system.
- Dexter Procter the 10-Year-Old Doctor (2024): A hilarious middle-grade fiction novel about Dexter Procter, a child genius who starts working as a pediatrician at Lilydale General Hospital.
- Dexter Procter and the Case of the Disappearing Doctor (2026): The second installment in the Dexter Procter series, bringing more medical mysteries for the young genius to solve.
Adult Fiction: Murder Mystery
In 2025, Adam Kay branched into adult fiction with his debut novel:
- A Particularly Nasty Case (2025): A dark comedy murder mystery focusing on Eitan Rose, a consultant rheumatologist who returns to his hospital after a mental health crisis and suspects that a series of patient deaths are not accidents.
Anthologies and Audio Collaborations
If you cannot get enough of Kay's writing, he has also worked on several collaborative projects:
- How to Be a Bogus Doctor (2011): Co-authored with Stanley Tedson, this early satirical booklet and subsequent comedy show served as a tongue-in-cheek guide to pretending to be a doctor.
- What Seems to Be the Problem? (2019): An exclusive Audible comedy production co-created with comedian Mark Watson, exploring medical histories and anxious health questions.
- Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You (2020): Edited by Adam Kay, this anthology features letters and stories from celebrities and public figures (such as Paul McCartney and Stephen Fry) thanking healthcare workers, with all proceeds donated to NHS charities.
What to Know Before You Start
Adam Kay's memoirs are famous for their unflinching honesty. Readers should be prepared for dark comedy and gallows humor. While the books are laugh-out-loud funny, they do deal with intense themes, including medical trauma, burnout, severe illnesses, and the specific event that led to Kay leaving medicine: a traumatic caesarean section resulting in a stillbirth. Keep these elements in mind if you are sensitive to medical distress.