Your Life In My Hands snapped up by Picador

Doctor turned musical comedian Adam Kay has signed a book deal to publish his diaries.

Your Life In My Hands will be a  first-hand account of being a junior doctor in the NHS, and follows his acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe show on the same topic.

Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused him to reconsider his future. 

His book will be published on September 7 by Picador, whose publishing director Francesca Main said: ‘I saw Adam’s Edinburgh show last summer and, along with the rest of the audience, spent the first 50 minutes in stitches and the final ten in tears. 

‘I’m thrilled to be publishing the often hilarious, at times horrifying, and occasionally heartbreaking Your Life In My Hands, which shines a light on the everyday heroism of junior doctors and shares a few secrets that will make your toes curl. 

‘Adam has a brilliant voice and a unique story to tell – this is the book David Sedaris might have written, if only he had spent six years in scrubs.’

Kay added: ‘Even if only one person reads it, that’s one more person who knows the truth about life as a junior doctor and one more voice who can stand up for the future of the NHS. Although if only one person reads the book, Picador will have made a catastrophic mistake in commissioning it.’

The press release announcing the news notably makes no mention of the title of Kay’s show that so impressed Main: Fingering A Minor On The Piano (Reviewed here). It will be playing at the Soho Theatre in the first two weeks of April.

Kay’s initial move from medicine to comedy was via the musical duo Amateur Transplants, whose Going Underground song, a sweary rant about travelling on the London Tube, became a viral hit.

Published: 30 Jan 2017