How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet

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Someone kindly bought this book for me as a gift, I don't think I've ever cried so much reading a book (except maybe Ginger's death in Black Beauty), but it is a fascinating glimpse into the Supervet's world. If you love animals, this book is definitely for you – filled to the brim with sadness, happiness as well as some laugh out loud moments, you will surely enjoy but more importantly this book is filled with a lot of love, righteousness and what is best for our furry pals.

Sixthly in how up to date it is – the book’s themes drawing together in a very tangible and incredibly up to date way with a severe accident to his own dog in September 2020 (one month before publication). He reflects on the valuable lessons of Integrity, Care, Love and Hope that they have taught him - lessons that have sustained him through the unbelievable highs and crushing lows of a profession where lives are quite literally at stake. Sunday Times bestseller Listening to the Animals was about Noel's path to becoming The Supervet, then How Animals Saved My Life is about what it's like to actually be The Supervet. Overall a good man, with a good heart who only wants the best for animals and their medicine, and if this was the primary focus of the book it would be 5 stars. The narrative of "if you work for it you will get it" was so pervasive I found myself despairing and shaking my head numerous times.There were things in the book I didn't understand but I will read it again in a little while and hopefully I'll understand more. I do respect all he does and his sensitivity is painful but perhaps another book needs to be more carefully planned out. In between I learned a lot about running a successful veterinary surgery and how Noel develops his techniques. I really, really love Noel, he's the best kind of human and I really enjoyed his first book which is why I opted to read this. He is absolutely entitled to hold those opinions of course, but for me it often felt out of place in the book given the assumed subject matter.

I am interested in how people make sense of their lives and the world around them but this was very convoluted and repetitive. 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 got a lecture about the danger of 'over treatment' and how hurt he was that he had been accused of it. There’s some great messaging in there and some really interesting aspects but because of the writing style, it kind of got sucked into a hole of tediousness.

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. seeking to bridge the Veterinary Science/Human Medicine gap – which as he points out has taken an additional resonance with COVID.