A Thousand Naked Strangers by Kevin Hazzard

A Thousand Naked Strangers by Kevin Hazzard

A former paramedic's "thrilling, captivating" (Booklist), and mordantly funny account of a decade spent as a first responder in Atlanta 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.

Kevin Hazzard worked as a paramedic at Grady Hospital in Atlanta from 2004 till 2013. Atlanta Magazine, Marietta Daily Journal, Creative Loafing, and Paste have all published his freelance journalism. He is the author of Sleeping Dogs, a book, and A Thousand Naked Strangers, a collection of short stories. His family and he reside in Hermosa Beach, California.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781501110863
ISBN 10	1501110861
Title	A Thousand Naked Strangers
Author	Kevin Hazzard
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Scribner Book Company
Year published	2016-09-20
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.