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Every Minute Is a Day  By  cover art

Every Minute Is a Day

By: Robert Meyer, Dan Koeppel
Narrated by: Robert Meyer, Dan Koeppel
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Publisher's summary

An urgent, on-the-scene account of chaos and compassion on the front lines of ground zero for COVID-19, from a senior doctor at New York City’s busiest emergency room

“Remarkable and inspiring.... We’re lucky to have this vivid firsthand account.” (A. J. Jacobs, best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically)

When former New York Times journalist Dan Koeppel texted his cousin Robert Meyer, a 20-year veteran of the emergency room at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States, he expected to hear that things were hectic. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being overwhelmed, where do you think you are? Koeppel asked. Meyer’s grave reply - 100 - was merely the cusp of the crisis that would soon touch every part of the globe.

In need of an outlet to process the trauma of his working life over the coming months, Meyer continued to update Koeppel with what he’d seen and whom he’d treated. The result is an intimate record of historic turmoil and grief from the perspective of a remarkably resilient ER doctor. Every Minute Is a Day takes us into a hospital ravaged by COVID-19 and is filled with the stories of promises made that may be impossible to keep, of life or death choices for patients and their families, and of selflessness on the part of medical professionals who put themselves at incalculable risk.

As fast-paced and high-tempo as the ER in which it takes place, Every Minute Is a Day is at its core an incomparable firsthand account of unrelenting compassion, and a reminder that every human life deserves a chance to be saved.

©2021 Robert Meyer and Dan Koeppel (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A riveting firsthand account of the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic.... This is hard-hitting nonfiction in the vein of Five Days at Memorial. Its re-creation of an atmosphere of daily panic and uncertainty makes it as absorbing as any thriller.” (Shelf Awareness, starred review)

“As many have said before, the Covid-19 crisis brought out both the worst and the best of humanity. Here is a remarkable and inspiring example of the latter. Reading Robert Meyer and Dan Koeppel’s book made me all the more grateful for the unimaginable sacrifices and stresses that the frontline medical workers went through. We’re lucky to have this vivid firsthand account.” (A. J. Jacobs, best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically)

“This book is a tour de force of rupture and repair. It is also a deeply compassionate eyewitness account of a deadly pandemic catching humanity by surprise, forcing us to rethink and reimagine while showing ways to reconnect through shared joys and sorrows.” (Azra Raza, MD, professor of medicine at Columbia University and author of The First Cell)

What listeners say about Every Minute Is a Day

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Thoroughly enjoyable

I really enjoyed both the reading and the book! Great insight into what was happening on the front lines, told with empathy and real emotion for the patients.

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The Authors

I love when the authors read their books. It makes the story more personal and you can feel the emotions through their words.

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An exquisitely written, important book.

The heartbreaking tale of great importance. I hope the powers-that-be read this book and take notes so that we are better prepared for the next pandemic, or even just the next routine appendectomy. My heart goes out to all of the healthcare workers, support staff, patients and their families.

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*Brutally honest, tenderly written,fully accurate *

As an ER nurse, I felt such a connection with Dr Meyer, Deb, the lack of PPE, the ED full and patients dying with no family except you.
I am now thinking about Dan, concerned for his health.
I wish this book had a 2nd edition or an update~ it is THAT GOOD!
I want more♥️

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Excellent Book

I couldn't stop listening. Firsthand Truth about COVID-19 and what it was really like in the NYC emergency department.
My prayers are for all frontline staff; without them and their dedication, how many more lives would have been or be lost.

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I am an Emergency Department nurse, and this story was real.

I am an Emergency Nurse and I was just across the river in Newark, NJ for the first wave of COVID-19. This book captured the emotion, the death, and the dying masterfully. Beyond the disaster, though, the authors captured the inspiring moments, the humanity, and the moments that gave the healthcare professionals hope.

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Wonderous and remarkable

This is a most insightful and informative book. The authors move smoothly around each other, shining a bright light on the shock and tumult of COVID-19 and the ways in which it changed us all. It is a moving tribute to the strength and empathy of our medical workers. Such gifted and brave human beings! I am changed for the better, having read this book. Thank you for writing it and for sharing your selves with us all.

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