num_pages: 261
description: A former paramedics visceral poignant and mordantly funny account of a decade spent on Atlantas 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 lifehis 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 realmone 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 peoples 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 eachas he termed themas a tourist true believer or killer.Combining indelible scenes that remind us of lifes fragile beauty with laugh-out-loud moments that keep us smiling through the worst A Thousand Naked Strangers is an absorbing read about one mans journey of self-discoverya trip that also teaches us about ourselves.
language: English
title: A Thousand Naked Strangers: a Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back
publisher: Scribner