Pulse

A Paramedic's Walk Along the Lines of Life and Death

By: James Pace, J.K. Pace

Narrated by: Zac Cash, Jordan Cash

Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

We’re the ones who walk into your house, into your emergency, into your life that will never be the same.

When we walk out, we’re never quite the same either.

In this debut collection of essays, Pace tells of his years as a career paramedic—wandering through the highs and the lows, the saves and the losses, the patients he remembers, and the ones he tries to forget.

In 1997, Pace began his career as an EMT because he wanted to do something exciting. He wanted to help people too. And he thought those two things—excitement and helping people—would exist hand in hand. With a little sprinkle of glory thrown in for good measure.

Twenty-three years and thousands of calls later—as an EMT, then paramedic, working in a helicopter and on the ground—he still hasn’t stumbled onto any glory, and he’s tired of the excitement. But some nights, even now, he finds scraps of humanity—beautiful pieces in the broken-up mosaic of the world.

©2022 Jean Knight Pace, Christopher Pace (P)2023 Jean Knight Pace, Christopher Pace

In depth perspective

I do love this book. I thought well read and also shows the side of Ems not everyone understands or knows that really happens.

Raw

This collection of thoughts does a wonderful job of describing some of what an emergency worker goes through. It really caused me to think about life, death, & how we choose to deal with both! I’m even more grateful for the emergency workers that fall under the radar now than I was previously.

A reviewer outside of his comfort zone

This is going to be one of the more difficult reviews I write. First because I know the author from certain writing circles. Second because for the same reason names and places were changed in the essays, I don't want to say anything to reveal too much or provide info that isn't mine to reveal. And third because this book is so far outside the genre of books that I normally read it might as well be written in another language.
I'm typically a sci/fi or fantasy or horror guy. Real life drama, while sometimes horror adjacent, is just not something I enjoy. But I was offered a chance to review this book so I gave it a shot. It was so much better than I anticipated. I listened to the audiobook version which was read by two people. A male reader for stories in James' voice and a female reader for Jean's voice.
I'm not sure if James and Jean could have read it better themselves. I don't know for sure but I'd bet the narrators were either married themselves or at the very least related somehow. Even though their narration isn't intertwined within any particular essay I still felt the closeness of them within the compilation.
I highly recommend for anyone who wants a peek inside the life and mind of a paramedic as well as an outside view from someone close to him.

A life of a paramedic

It is such an interesting material. I'm not a fan of nonfiction but this one, had my full attention. All those cases that were brought by great narrators and the author with a help of his wife who is an author, gave me a view of the life of EMT.

It was greatest

It was fine really enjoyed it. I’m gonna pass this title onto a friend of mine.

A true representation of a Paramedic's job

I am a retired volunteer EMT, so I jumped at the chance to listen to this book. The authors have done an outstanding job in depicting many of the things that workers in pre-hospital emergency medicine face every day. I laughed, I cheered, I cried, but most of all, I could totally relate to these stories.

The way that the paramedic's wife enhanced the "just the facts" remembrances of his job gave the book a wonderful flow. The stories were realistic for the job and as an EMT, I found that I had many of the same memories and stories. I liked the way that the author debunked the Hollywood depiction of a paramedic's job. I have found myself yelling at the TV many times at the unrealistic way that events are shown by movies and TV.

The narrators did a great job and enhanced my enjoyment of this book. I truly appreciate the authors for sharing the humor, the tragedy and the triumphs of this grueling job along with the blood, sweat, and poop!

Wow

Wow. This was a really intense read/listen. If you love police shows or emergency shows, you’ll like this. I learned some things from the point of view of the paramedics that I hadn’t even thought about before. This book had me in tears through most of it, and my heart hurt for the situations that the author has been in, and for all of the families he wrote about. Thank you for sharing this with the world.

Moving Memoir

I found this story to be very poignant. James Pace was seeking excitement and the ability to help people, when he started working as an EMT and later as a paramedic. This story gave to me a brief glimpse into the life and stresses that healthcare workers who respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital endure. I have a greater appreciation for the people who spend their lives being an EMT or paramedic after listening to this audiobook. Zac Cash's and Jordan Cash's narrations were good and enhanced the story's profundity. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

Must Read!

Very well written book. I can't believe people call for such small things that they can call a non emergency person to help with instead of taking up emergency people's time from a more important situation {unless that said person has no one lefted in there lives to help them}