I think Noel has made great waves in the veterinary community and did find interest his discussions on one medicine, ethical implications of surgery and treatment and the process of said treatments. This added a depth to the book and intertwined the human/animal relationship that forges his ultimate passion of "One Medicine" - something I knew nothing about before reading this book but strongly agree with. Picking up this book I wasn't expecting to hear Noel mentioning the likes of George Floyd and the BLM movement, or his perhaps (in my opinion) rose tinted feelings towards droves of undocumented immigrants arriving on boats. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I loved the idea of “one medicine” which is a common theme in the book - whereby human and animal medicine need to collaborate for the greater good. Incidentally as a watcher of Supervet I've quite often thought there was over treatment but then as he points out, it's not quantifiably defined so who knows). The book also gives an insight into the pressure the vets are under to make the right decision and find the right treatment for their patients over and over every day and the toll it takes on them. His life is dedicated to the animals he treats and his compassion for both animals and humans is heart warming.

Also there was a paragraph about him putting on weight and how he had put the food in his mouth so it was down to him to lose it again (with his personal trainer).

Growing up on the family farm in Ballyfin, Ireland, Noel's childhood was spent tending to the cattle and sheep, the hay and silage, the tractors and land, his beloved sheepdog Pirate providing solace from the bullies that plagued him at school.

I did find this difficult to read in places, a bit technical, so I found myself skipping over bits, but not too much. It just struck me as a bit simplistic and a little bit patronising but then you all know by now I'm sensitive to weight issues. This was a tough read, especially as his beloved Keira was still alive but died whilst I was reading this. I do respect all he does and his sensitivity is painful but perhaps another book needs to be more carefully planned out.