Books by Rachel Clarke
“Rachel Clarke is a palliative care doctor. Here, she documents the story of Keira, a nine-year-old girl who has a catastrophic injury, and her parents, who have to make the unbearable decision in the midst of their grief of what to do with her heart. Because there’s a little boy who desperately needs the heart, and they give the ultimate gift—they give this heart to the little boy and they save his life. I cried throughout reading this book. So did a lot of my fellow judges. And there’s such dignity in how she deals with the subject matter, and in the behaviour of both sets of parents. There is also dignity in the medical staff.” Read more...
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2025 Women’s Prize for Nonfiction
Kavita Puri, Journalist
Breathtaking
by Rachel Clarke
Breathtaking by Rachel Clarke, a palliative care doctor, is her memoir of working as a doctor during the COVID pandemic, and what it was like for staff as they battled to save people's lives in unimaginable conditions. Four of her colleagues lost their lives because they lacked critical protective equipment, and Clarke dedicates the book to them. The ITV series based on the memoir is also excellent.
Dear Life: A Doctor's Story of Love and Loss
by Rachel Clarke
***Longlisted for the 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction***
Interviews where books by Rachel Clarke were recommended
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1
A Thousand Threads: A Memoir
by Neneh Cherry -
2
The Story of a Heart
by Rachel Clarke -
3
Raising Hare
by Chloe Dalton -
4
Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter
by Clare Mulley -
5
What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World’s Ocean
by Helen Scales -
6
Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China
by Yuan Yang
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2025 Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, recommended by Kavita Puri
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2025 Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, recommended by Kavita Puri
Now in its second year, the Women’s Prize for Nonfiction aims to highlight the very best new nonfiction books written by women. We asked Kavita Puri, the journalist and chair of this year’s judging panel, to talk us through the shortlist: from a gentle lockdown animal memoir to a thrilling true story of a WW2 secret agent.
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1
Nuclear War: A Scenario
by Annie Jacobsen -
2
Question 7
by Richard Flanagan -
3
The Story of a Heart
by Rachel Clarke -
4
A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial
by Viet Thanh Nguyen -
5
Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin
by Sue Prideaux -
6
Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World
by David Van Reybrouck
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Isabel Hilton
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Isabel Hilton
From nuclear war to a heartbreaking medical story, from the memoirs of novelists and the life of an artist to the struggle for independence in Indonesia, British journalist Isabel Hilton introduces the six books that made the shortlist of the UK’s most prestigious nonfiction prize.
