Staff Pick
If everyone read this book, there would be no more rubbernecking. It’s everything you ever wanted to know when you saw an ambulance zoom past — disturbing and fascinating, but also thoughtful. One of my favorite lines: "The human body — hers, mine, everyone’s — is basically sausage." Recommended By Britt A., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A former paramedic’s visceral, poignant, and mordantly funny account of a decade spent on Atlanta’s mean streets saving lives and connecting with the drama and occasional beauty that lies inside catastrophe.
In the aftermath of 9/11 Kevin Hazzard felt that something was missing from his life — his days were too safe, too routine. A failed salesman turned local reporter, he wanted to test himself, see how he might respond to pressure and danger. He signed up for emergency medical training and became, at age twenty-six, a newly minted EMT running calls in the worst sections of Atlanta. His life entered a different realm — one of blood, violence, and amazing grace.
Thoroughly intimidated at first and frequently terrified, he experienced on a nightly basis the adrenaline rush of walking into chaos. But in his downtime, Kevin reflected on how people’s facades drop away when catastrophe strikes. As his hours on the job piled up, he realized he was beginning to see into the truth of things. There is no pretense five beats into a chest compression, or in an alley next to a crack den, or on a dimly lit highway where cars have collided. Eventually, what had at first seemed impossible happened: Kevin acquired mastery. And in the process he was able to discern the professional differences between his freewheeling peers, what marked each — as he termed them — as “a tourist,” “true believer,” or “killer.”
Combining indelible scenes that remind us of life’s fragile beauty with laugh-out-loud moments that keep us smiling through the worst, A Thousand Naked Strangers is an absorbing read about one man’s journey of self-discovery — a trip that also teaches us about ourselves.
Review
“A shocking, utterly compelling tour de force that shows the dark heart of an Atlanta that I never knew existed. Mr. Hazzard tells about his ten-year career as an ambulance paramedic in a way that is both heart-stopping and heart-breaking. He writes in an elegant, low-key style, racing from crimes scenes to fatal accidents to the birthing of babies. I couldn’t let the book go – it’s powerful enough to have turned me into an ambulance chaser in my own small South Carolina town, but it’s also very, very funny.” Pat Conroy, New York Times bestselling author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini
Review
“A Thousand Naked Strangers is a voyeuristic ride-along with a seasoned paramedic. Kevin Hazzard has an eye for Atlanta’s gritty detail – its true character and its true characters. Buckle up and prepare for an eye-opening plunge into barely controlled chaos.” Judy Melinek, M.D., coauthor with T.J. Mitchell of the New York Times bestseller Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner
Review
“A Thousand Naked Strangers puts you in the front seat with Hazzard and a churn of motley partners as they respond to a series of wild calls – ones more tragic and horrifying, but also more comical, than can be imagined. Hazzard excels at the small yet unforgettable details: what appears in the tread of his shoe, what scatters onto the floor of his ambulance. You’ll begin this journey as a guilty voyeur, seeing things you really shouldn’t, but, by the end, be transformed into a respectful witness of a remarkable profession.” Katrina Firlik, author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside
Review
“I had no idea that paramedics might be even sicker than the people they're transporting! From one wild ride to the next, this insider's tale of what really happens in the back of an emergency ambulance is as absorbing as it is revealing. Gifted with a reporter's eye for detail and the wit and style of a bemused raconteur, Hazzard shows us what might happen if the medicos from ‘M.A.S.H’ were miraculously deposited on the set of ‘Homicide: Life on the Street.’” Bob Drury, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Heart of Everything There Is and Last Men Out
About the Author
Kevin Hazzard worked as a paramedic from 2004 to 2013, primarily at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. His freelance journalism has appeared in Atlanta Magazine, Marietta Daily Journal, Creative Loafing, and Paste. He is the author of a novel, Sleeping Dogs, and A Thousand Naked Strangers. He and his family live in Hermosa Beach, California.