Author Anthony Almojera, and EMT in NYC, takes us though his life responding to medical emergencies in NYC. He begins with "normal" workdays and emergencies, which are harrowing enough. Then we ride with him through the initial Covid-19 pandemic that ravaged NYC in early 2020. He spares no details reporting his tours, his colleagues, and his feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion. He then includes us in the aftermath of the emergency as other areas of the US experienced similar catastrophic illness, but NYC's waned, and the PTSD he and many of his colleagues experienced.

He is also an advocate for fair wages for EMT workers, who have been stiffed by the government, as his efforts to protect his brothers and sisters in the force. Along the way, he reveals the painful details of his upbringing, and how they relate to his work as a first responder.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This book is just the kind of thing that I like to read. I am very interested in medicine and medical stories, both fiction and non fiction. I used to live in NYC and still live in NY but on Long Island so this book had particular interest to me. As soon as I got it I dove in as I lived the pandemic here in NY so I very much wanted to hear the take from someone that was on the front lines of everything.. While we were in the heart of the pandemic I would often think to myself, how are EMS handling working in such a scary environment? This was my chance to find out.
So to start off, I really liked the book. The author is very likeable through his writing. He goes beyond just using the slang that EMS uses and explained to the reader just what codes and different types of medical issues actually are. He gave great stories and anecdotes of experiences that he had throughout his career.
There were a few criticisms that I had. He does not get to really the meat of the point of the book, working through the pandemic until about 49% of the book. He mentions it here and there before that but ends up going off on tangents of either other scenarios he's had or a reflection of a time in his younger life. I felt the strongest part of the book actually started when he was talking about his experience during the pandemic. Another part that was difficult was all the jumping around. He would start on a story and then it would almost be a steam of consciousness where he would veer off onto another story. It made the timeline of the book very disjointed and at times confusing.
Aside from that, as I said when you get to the part when he is talking about his experiences during the pandemic the book took off and was very interesting. If you can wade through all the other parts I mentioned, the book is definitely worth a read to know just how it was for EMS during that very scary time and how much they endured. I'm very glad that I got to read this.

Very interesting! Work in health care, so this is up my alley.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

A gripping, moving, thoughtful ride along in the life of a NYC paramedic. Almojera’s voice is raw and honest and his emotions spill across the pages. His anger at the avoidable Covid deaths is poignant. It’s a timely read, too, given that we’re still not out of this pandemic. A genuinely timely read. Thanks to NetGalley for the preview read. #NetGalley #RidingtheLightning

I really enjoyed this book by Anthony Almojera. It was very well written and I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

Just an outstanding book. I'll admit that I was somewhat hesitant to read about the darkest part of the pandemic, but this book is so masterfully written that I could not put it down. I give this my highest recommendation.