I have mixed feelings about this book. It is a fascinating look at the life of a critical care nurse and a peek into the horror that was pandemic nursing but it was in my opinion far too long and far too repetitious. Originally written as regular emails it makes sense that the same things are oft repeated ‘nurses are a family’ ‘I love being Mama Anthea to these young nurses’ if you are hearing them at monthly or even weekly intervals. Once put together in one volume it becomes so obvious how often Anthea muses on the camaraderie of her team. I think the book could have been far better if edited to remove the bulk of these musings and was a shorter book.
I really struggled to finish it.

I enjoyed this book.she went into details of what was happening and how hard they all worked to keep people alive.I also cried because it is also very very sad.all the nurses and dr need a big pay rise they worked hard in very difficult situations.I had both my vaccines and the booster.and kept away from people.they all sound very lovely and if I had to go into icu they would be the people I would want to look after me.i didn’t think of all they had to go through until I read this was a very good and informative read so thank you for letting me read this.it is a must read it is a eye opener that’s for sure.I did enjoyed me made me think a lot more about thing

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Life, Death and Biscuits’ written by Anthea Allen in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Anthea Allen is a Senior Critical Care Nurse at St George’s University Hospital in Tooting, South-West London. After working for twenty years in Critical Care, Anthea returns home from visiting her parents in Dorset to realise that Covid-19 is real, it’s the unseen enemy and is in her hospital. Early March 2020 Anthea writes an email to her friends and acquaintances in the community describing events happening in her hospital. That first email is a request for biscuits as her nurses don’t have time for a meal break and such is the support given she’s overwhelmed by donations of not only biscuits but cakes, crisps, chocolate, pizzas, anything edible, that’s left on her door-step.

Anthea finds the emails cathartic but they become so popular she starts writing one a week and these emails form the basis of this true story that’s been written partly in diary-form. Although some parts are horrific, some impossibly sad, there’s a humour that carries the nurses through as they get on with saving lives while having to put up with being sworn at, punched, hit and spat at, but it’s all part of the job! There are bits of humour such as when a nurse’s PPE was tied so tightly she needed help to untie the knots, and quickly, before she could use the ladies’ facilities. This book is a must-read that had me in tears from the beginning and although there was a lot of repetition that could have been removed it was an eye-opener of events we knew were happening from watching the news on TV but didn’t realise quite what effect it was having on the medical staff. I’m sure those who refuse the vaccine wouldn’t be interested in reading this book but I’d so like them to read just the epilogue and they might change their minds. My heartfelt thanks go to Anthea and all our wonderful nurses for putting their own lives at risk to save ours!

Wow what can I say, I loved this, It’s real, raw and honest. It’s well written and I loved the email style of writing, the author writes with such passion and clarity. It triggers every emotion, it had me crying & laughing throughout. A very informative worthwhile and poignant read. I’ll definitely be recommending this as a great medical memoir.

Those of us not on the front line could only imagine how tough it was for the nurses, doctors and support staff.

Anthea started writing a regular email writing frankly about the issues she and her team faced on a daily basis. These emails form the back bone of the book, together with more descriptions from Anthea.

We get a unique insight into a closely knit band of professionals; how they cope and how they don't over the coming months.

This is important documentary evidence for those who, in the years to come, can have no perception of what it was like for all of us.

To get the most out of this book, read it as you would emails, a little at a time rather than all at once.

Wow, what a book that was to read for how nurses cope(d) during the [main] wave(s) of Coronavirus in 2020 and 2021. Most of the stuff we see in the press is about the doctors/hospitals in general, not the nurses so it was enjoyable from that perspective. Sadly Anthea I can't give you the pay rise or more nurses but I can give you 5 stars and recommendation for folks to buy your book!

As a fellow nurse who worked through the peak of the pandemic, it was so refreshing to read something so raw and honest about what we had gone through.

An interesting and heartbreaking read, what an amazing, inspiring job the health care profession did and still do during the pandemic.

I feel that this is a timely book, as COVID is still very much with us, but the massive strain on health staff is now barely mentioned in the news, and the working conditions, lack of proper remuneration, and loss of staff should still be at the forefront of everybody's minds, not least the anti-vaccination lobby.

I do appreciate that the problems were similar day to day, but maybe tighter editing would have made the narrative less repetitive. In addition, I would have been interested to know more of the effect on family life outside of the hospital.

Whilst we have heard tales from the front line during the pandemic read out during news bulletins and seen the harrowing images of medical staff after their shifts in PPE. As well as joining in the claps for carers each week. There is a whole new understanding of what it is truly like and the effect is has on a person who is right there in the thick of things.

A powerful and at times harrowing account from an intensive care nurse at St George's hospital. Woking throughout the pandemic treating those who are at their sickest. Learning out to navigate the pandemic, the awful virus that has spread throughout the world and managing to be there for patients who have nobody else who is allowed to be by their bedside as they slip away from the world.

An honest account of the struggles faced by NHS staff during covid times.

Heartwarming and heartbreaking to read her account.

COVID will change everyone's lives forever and remain a part of history.

Perfect for anyone who loves a medical memoir.

Life,Death and Biscuits is an excellent book by Critical Care Nurse Anthea Allen telling the story of the fight against Covid from the front line. This book grew out of weekly e-mails to friends that Ms Allen used to send to friends that gained a much wider audience when they were published in the Daily Mail....and now are in book form. The book tells the inside story of Anthea's amazing Critical Care team ,at St George's hospital in South London as under almost overwhelming physical and mental pressure they battle against the tide of increasing numbers of Covid patients. Many of the team are thrown in at the deep end of the Critical Care unit ,either as new Nurses or from other departments where their skills have no relevance to battling deadly viruses. No punches are pulled and this isn't a book for the squeamish as Anthea tells it like it is with no sugar coating from the disgusting way Nurses are treated in this country to harrowing stories of people's last moments. Many of the team are very young and become very close as they share the highs and the lows of their gruelling vocation, Anthea is looked on as a mother figure and equally loves and respects her "daughters" as they fight stress and fatigue as well as rollercoaster emotions for the greater good..

A great book by an amazing and inspirational lady,read it and you'll appreciate all those "on the shopfloor" in the NHS. who do such a fantastic job . NHS Management and Politicians should read this and hang their heads in shame......if they know what that is.

A powerful memoir of an intensive care nurse showing the camaraderie of NHS staff living and working during the peak of the Covid crisis.
Written from the heart this story shows the courage and compassion from our NHS heroes.
An easy but also hard read showing what our NHS nurses endured . I highly recommend it

A powerful account from a nurse on the front line battling Covid. This really is a must read book to appreciate the awfulness of nurse's lives trying to do their best against all the odds with a major lack of resources. These wonderful people need all the support and more from government to do their jobs caring for the sick. Written in diary form via a once a week email which truly captured the desperate horrific situation as it unfolded in the critical care Covid wards of St George's Hospital Tooting. As with many such situations, there's some light and humour that comes through amidst this fight against this harrowing virus. Every politician and hospital management should read this book. Total respect and admiration for the people on the ground, working beyond the bounds of duty with actually tackling this crisis all without just reward.

Life death and biscuits was a particularly poignant read for me as like the author I worked as a registered nurse in covid positive wards, I also unfortunately ended up as a patient in intensive care so saw the reality from both sides! What shone through for me was the team spirit and sense of camaraderie amongst the team, the sense of despair, the not knowing and the steep learning curve particularly in the first wave is something that will always stay with me!
Loved the email idea and references to real patients in their many varied forms and the support that Anthea offered so freely and willingly to her team as I feel the repercussion’s of this will be felt for a very long time by those who were working frontline throughout the pandemic!
An informative enlightening read.
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

This is a harrowing read in parts and rightly so! We all know that the nursing profession do so much and especially how hard they worked during the pandemic but reading this book it really hits home how much they actually really do and how much they went through. They should all have a lifetime supply of biscuits (and a substantial pay rise!)

Anthea is a critical care nurse at St Georges, London and this book came about from weekly emails she sent to friends and family at the start of the pandemic. It's a diary of her feelings and thoughts through this time, the bond with her colleagues and the stories of patients in her care.

It's well written with just the right level of humour, it's raw and real and triggers every emotion. A worthwhile and poignant read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book appealed to me as a nurse working through the coronavirus pandemic and being redeployed. It made me realise the impact it has had on both myself, colleagues and family. A brilliant memoir of one nurses experience.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an interesting foray into the genre, and the coronavirus pandemic has definitely (unfortunately) provided fresh content for this genre of book. Allen wrote emotively and captured life on the COVID wards well.

Life, Death and Biscuits is a Harrowing, eye opening & thought provoking read. It demonstrates to those not within the ‘inner sanctum’ during the Covid pandemic exactly what the NHS staff were dealing with day in and day out. Anthea has encompassed the right amount of humour, emotion, raw realness and stories into this insightful read.

Wow, was a great book. I love a medical memoir and this whilst being about covid almost feels so long ago! The author is a hero, not least because they are a critical care nurse but mostly because they write with such passion and clarity! Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the incredible opportunity to read this early! I will be recommending this to people when they ask for this style of book!