How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet

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This is a lively book with moments of joy as an animal recovers or a new technique is a success but also of sorrow when a pet cannot be saved or succumbs to old age. The knocked off star is for the explanations of the operations, which I found a little technical, although other vets and doctors would probably find them fascinating. This was a tough read, especially as his beloved Keira was still alive but died whilst I was reading this. SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER It has been 30 years since Noel Fitzpatrick graduated as a veterinary surgeon, and that 22-year-old from Ballyfin, Ireland, is now one of the leading veterinary surgeons in the world.

Throughout this book, we get more of an understanding of how Noel connects with animals on a deeper level and his love and caring of all animals that he comes across is extraordinary. It can be hard to read in parts but if this is your kind of thing I truly believe you will enjoy it.His plan of "one medicine" that sets out to help both animal and humans equally without the (current) expense of a healthy animal's life should be the goal of both human and animal medicines. I got a self help book and a philosophy book as well as a book on transcendental meditation and buddhism. I do respect all he does and his sensitivity is painful but perhaps another book needs to be more carefully planned out. I also got a tad annoyed with the philosophy of if you want something you just have to work hard for it and if you didn't get it it was because you didn't work hard enough.

The overall structure of the book wasn't what I was expecting, it was split into chapters on personality traits/virtues, mostly explained through lessons he has learned from animals in his care and his two beloved pets. When I was reading, I really felt like I was there because it was about his life in lockdown and I was reading it during lockdown. However, I thought there was a lot of fluffy content, celebrity name dropping and repetitions that could have been taken out. This one had chapters based on qualities (Internalisation, Nowness, Truth and Trust, Empathy, Genuineness, Rightness, Innovation, Tenacity, Youness, Compassion, Appreciation, Respect, Eternalisation) that read like they are from a self-help genre book, and to be honest some of the content matches.

Noel should be applauded for his strong, life long desire to meld human and animal health into a single scientific endeavour. I am interested in how people make sense of their lives and the world around them but this was very convoluted and repetitive.

This can be a difficult read not only because there is a lot of technical stuff in it but also because it can be difficult to see through the tears. seeking to bridge the Veterinary Science/Human Medicine gap – which as he points out has taken an additional resonance with COVID. Secondly, how the author draws on the qualities he sees in animals – particularly pet cats and dogs, including his own. There was quite a lot of medical information in this book which was hard going at times, but apart from that, it was an extremely well-written memoir which I have no hesitation in highly recommending.Fitzpatrick has a particularly interesting view of the world, and it was particularly interesting to read about some of his more challenging cases (alongside a slew of personal challenges). I wholeheartedly agree with his one medicine dream and really enjoyed reading about his veterinary experiences and the brilliant cutting edge operations he performs. It was just a bit too political from what I was expecting and having another person's politics preached at me is not what I personally enjoy in a book. He has penned three volumes of memoirs ( Becoming the Supervet: Listening to the Animals, Being the Supervet: How Animals Saved My Life and Beyond Supervet: How Animals Make Us the Best We Can Be) as well as two books for children and a volume reflecting on his relationship with his beloved dog entitled Keira and Me.

I also enjoyed Fitzpatrick's discussion on One Medicine, as this is an interest of mine working in a human healthcare setting. I just didn't have the will to pick up the next chapter, as I knew it would be just the same as the previous ones.whereas I always thought 'you wouldn't allow an animal to suffer, so why allow people to suffer' but after reading this I do wonder if euthanasia is the 'easy option' for some vets.