Author Guide · Medical Memoir
Books Written by
Adam Kay worked as a doctor in NHS hospitals from 2004 to 2010, training in obstetrics and gynaecology, and left medicine after a caesarean section in which the baby was stillborn. The diaries he kept during those years became This Is Going to Hurt (2017): its paperback sold more than 2.5 million copies, it was translated into 28 languages, and in 2022 the BBC turned it into a seven-part series that Kay wrote himself. After it he wrote a Christmas follow-up, edited an anthology, wrote a second memoir and a run of children’s books, most of them with the illustrator Henry Paker, and in 2025 published a novel. This guide covers his 5 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 5 key books · 2017–2025 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Adam Kay’s best-known book is This Is Going to Hurt (2017), the diaries of his years as a junior doctor. His other books for adults are Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (2019), the anthology Dear NHS (2020), Undoctored (2022) and his first novel, A Particularly Nasty Case (2025). Start with This Is Going to Hurt: it is the book the others build on, and the one the BBC series is based on.
Where to Start with Adam Kay
If you want the book everyone talks about
→ This Is Going to Hurt (2017) — the diaries behind the BBC series.
If you want his life beyond the hospital
→ Undoctored (2022) — his second full memoir.
If you want something short
→ Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (2019) — his Christmas follow-up.
If you want his fiction
→ A Particularly Nasty Case (2025) — his first novel.
5 Adam Kay Books, in Order
This Is Going to Hurt
The diaries Kay kept as a junior doctor in NHS hospitals between 2004 and 2010, while training in obstetrics and gynaecology, up to the case that made him quit: a caesarean complicated by an undiagnosed placenta praevia, in which the baby was stillborn. The paperback sold more than 2.5 million copies, was a Sunday Times number one for over a year and was the UK’s second-best-selling book of 2018. BBC One adapted it as a seven-part series in 2022.
Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas
A short Christmas follow-up to This Is Going to Hurt, published in 2019.
Dear NHS
An anthology Kay edited in 2020. As the subtitle says, it collects 100 stories written as a thank-you to the National Health Service.
Undoctored
His second full memoir, published in 2022, the year the BBC series of This Is Going to Hurt aired. As the subtitle suggests, it is about his life outside the hospital, including the years after he left medicine in 2010.
A Particularly Nasty Case
Kay’s first novel, a mystery published in August 2025, after eight years of memoirs, an anthology and children’s books.
In What Order to Read Adam Kay
Read This Is Going to Hurt first. Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas is its follow-up, and Undoctored moves on to his life beyond the hospital, so publication order is also the natural order for the memoirs.
Dear NHS stands on its own: it is an anthology he edited. His children’s books are listed separately below.
A reading path
1. This Is Going to Hurt (2017)
2. Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (2019)
3. Undoctored (2022)
4. A Particularly Nasty Case (2025)
Adam Kay’s Children’s Books
Beyond the 5 key books: 8 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Children’s books
8
8 books · 2020–2026
- 2020Kay’s Anatomywith Henry Paker
- 2021Kay’s Marvellous Medicinewith Henry Paker
- 2023Kay’s Brilliant Brainswith Henry Paker
- 2023Amy Gets Eatenwith Henry Paker
- 2023Kay’s Incredible Inventionswith Henry Paker
- 2024Charlie and the Christmas Factorywith other writers
- 2024Dexter Procter the 10-Year-Old Doctorthe first Dexter Procter book, with Henry Paker
- 2026Dexter Procter and the Case of the Disappearing Doctorthe second Dexter Procter book, with Henry Paker
The years · 1980–2025
Quick facts about Adam Kay
- Known for
- Turning his diaries as an NHS junior doctor into This Is Going to Hurt (2017), the UK’s second-best-selling book of 2018, and adapting it for BBC One.
- 1980
- Born in Brighton
- 2004
- Starts work as a doctor
- 2010
- Leaves medicine
- 2025
- First novel
- Born
- 1980, Brighton, England
- Medicine
- Doctor 2004–2010, training in obstetrics and gynaecology
- Best seller
- This Is Going to Hurt: over 2.5 million paperbacks sold, 28 languages
- Book award
- Book of the Year, National Book Awards 2018
- Television
- BAFTA Television Craft Award 2023 for writing the BBC adaptation
- Children’s books
- Most with Henry Paker, from Kay’s Anatomy (2020)
The red mark is 2017: This Is Going to Hurt, the diaries of his years as a junior doctor.
How Adam Kay Writes: From the Diary to the Page
Kay’s first book is built from the diaries he kept on the job as a junior doctor between 2004 and 2010, so the reader follows his training in obstetrics and gynaecology as he recorded it at the time.
The diaries run up to the 2010 case in which a baby was stillborn after an undiagnosed placenta praevia, the event that made him leave medicine and left him with symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The book was a Sunday Times number one in paperback for over a year, and Kay later adapted it himself for BBC One.
After leaving medicine he also began writing for children, mostly with the illustrator Henry Paker, starting with Kay’s Anatomy (2020), and in 2025 he published his first novel for adults.
Watch
Adam Kay on life as a junior doctor
Adam Kay talks to ITV’s This Morning in 2019 about his bestselling book and why he left medicine.
Frequently asked questions about Adam Kay’s books
How many books has Adam Kay written?
Five for adults, the key books on this page: This Is Going to Hurt (2017), Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (2019), Dear NHS (2020, as editor), Undoctored (2022) and A Particularly Nasty Case (2025). He has also written eight children’s books, seven of them with the illustrator Henry Paker, listed further down the page.
What are Adam Kay’s books in order?
This Is Going to Hurt (2017), Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (2019), Dear NHS (2020), Undoctored (2022) and A Particularly Nasty Case (2025).
Where should I start with Adam Kay?
With This Is Going to Hurt. It is the book the later memoirs build on, and the one the BBC series is based on.
What is Adam Kay’s most famous book?
This Is Going to Hurt (2017). Its paperback sold more than 2.5 million copies, it was a Sunday Times number one paperback for over a year, and it was named Book of the Year at the 2018 National Book Awards.
Is This Is Going to Hurt a true story?
Yes. It is based on the diaries Kay kept as a junior doctor in NHS hospitals between 2004 and 2010.
Was This Is Going to Hurt made into a TV series?
Yes. BBC One announced a seven-part comedy-drama in 2018, made by Sister Pictures, and the first episode aired on 8 February 2022. Kay wrote the adaptation and won a BAFTA for the writing at the 2023 British Academy Television Craft Awards.
Why did Adam Kay stop being a doctor?
He left in 2010 after a caesarean section complicated by an undiagnosed placenta praevia, in which the baby was stillborn. He was left with symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Has Adam Kay written a novel?
Yes. A Particularly Nasty Case (2025) is his first novel.
Does Adam Kay write children’s books?
Yes. With the illustrator Henry Paker: Kay’s Anatomy (2020), Kay’s Marvellous Medicine (2021), Kay’s Brilliant Brains (2023), Amy Gets Eaten (2023), Kay’s Incredible Inventions (2023) and two Dexter Procter books (2024 and 2026). He also contributed to Charlie and the Christmas Factory (2024) with other writers.
Footnotes
- Adam Kay (writer) — Wikipedia
- A Particularly Nasty Case — Hachette Book Group
- Review: mystery from This Is Going to Hurt author — News Tribune
- Undoctored — Bowker Bookwire
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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