Interviews & Related Coverage
Book Q&As with Debora Kalb | Deborah Kalb interviews author Brian Casey about his new memoir Ambulance Man. February 20, 2022.
Advance Praise
“An ambulance has always seemed to me to be a rolling mystery box, a sort of metaphor for life itself. In this vivid, gripping book, Casey provides a glimpse inside, showing the dignity of the work, the humanity of those who do it, and the preciousness of life itself. Highly recommended.”
— Crawford Coates, author of Mindful Responder
“Poignant, quirky and raw. Brian Casey gives readers a peek behind the curtain few are privileged to witness. Anyone who has served on an ambulance will recognize the complex and unvarnished humanity in his story. Those who have not, may feel like passers-by — staring between their splayed fingers at a gruesome car crash, but staring nonetheless.
— Brian LaCroix, EMS Chief (Ret.), past president National EMS Management Association
“Ambulance Man is a valuable and important addition to the emerging literature on the lived experience of EMTs and paramedics in America. With candor and warmth, Casey not only takes us to the small rooms and streets where an ambulance man meets and compassionately tends to people, he captures an era of ambulance work and EMS development that should not be forgotten.”
— John M. Becknell, PhD
“Lights, siren, action! Sometimes a well-told story is needed to provide clarity and insight about a particular occupation. Casey does just that in an honest and heartwarming way.”
— Shawn Yurick, correctional officer, Stillwater, MN
“Brian Casey’s Ambulance Man takes us deep inside the part of life that is filled with car crashes, drowned kids, and heart attacks. This first-person narrative begins when ambulances were fancy Cadillac station wagons and before 911 so people called your phone directly with their emergency. Brian invites the reader to see this world through his eyes. To feel what it is like to have abusive partners, kind partners, a child die in your arms, and people live who otherwise would have died. Casey lets you see up close and personal the toll the profession can take on those who dedicate their lives to helping others, and how to get through the tough stuff in style. I devoured it in one evening.”
— Mike Taigman, paramedic, assistant professor at University of California, San Francisco, author of Super-Charge Your Stress Management in the Age of COVID-19
“Have you ever watched an ambulance pass by with lights flashing and siren blaring? The whole time thinking: I wonder where they are going, what will they see when they get there, and what will they do to help the person in need? Well this book picks you up and takes you along for the ride!”
— Eric Hagle, police officer, Minneapolis, MN
“I couldn’t put it down. Ambulance Man is a compelling, sometimes humorous and frenetic series of confrontations with suffering and death — the aspects of life most of us try to avoid at all costs. It is about one man’s search for meaning in the depths of human tragedy; a discovery of the sacred within the profane.
— Kyle Keller, Psychotherapist