How often do you recognise beauty throughout your day, and pause to cherish it? During the funeral of his beloved Aunty Win, doctor and author Matt Morgan noticed the value of social contact, with warmth and solace coming from each other’s company as the mourners moved from the graveside to Win’s house. In the weeks that followed, he contemplated the lives of his patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), especially those who had narrowly escaped death – by lightning strike, drugs, COVID, drowning, self-harm, heart failure, rugby and ice.
Morgan believes that those patients who managed to survive are the ones who really know ‘what matters regarding life’. These survivors are the very people we should be listening to for humane wisdom (especially when compared to contemporary, surface-level alternatives like business gurus and social media influencers).
Medicine often forgets that simple words have power. Morgan compiled dozens of authentic patient stories – along with background medical information and his own thoughts and ideas – into A Second Act. The often-confronting tales are simply told, with the clinical realities gently combined with broader, thought-provoking notes, anecdotes and observations involving Tetris (puzzle video game), REM (alternative rock band), Roald Dahl (children’s author) and Wales (lush, green country; home to singer Bonnie Tyler).
A Second Act offers readers a grounded and optimistic new look at life by revisiting clinical stories with humanity, meaning and compassion.
Reviewed by Mark Parry
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Morgan is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, Honorary Professor at Cardiff University and Curtin University in Australia and regular BMJ columnist. He has contributed to >50 scientific articles following his PhD in artificial intelligence.
He has spoken at some of the largest book festivals in the world, written articles for diverse publications from The Guardian to Esquire magazine, featured on radio programmes including The Today Program as well as appearing on many television programs from CNN to The BBC. He gave the 2023 Woodridge Lecture, has spoken at The Wellcome Trust and was nominated for the Royal Society’s David Attenborough prize for public engagement. He was listed in the top fifty most influential health tech people in 2024.
His first book CRITICAL tells remarkable stories of patients in the intensive care unit. His second book, ONE MEDICINE, explores how understanding animals can help treat human disease. His third book A SECOND ACT, will tell the stories of patients after surviving a cardiac arrest and what these can teach us about our own lives.
His is a member of the BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS, ambassador for 2Wish charity, patron for The Humanimal Trust and medical advisor for The National Theatre’ in London’s production of “Nye”, the story of Aneurin Bevan starring Michel Sheen. He lives in Cardiff with his family and loves ice cream.
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