'I love Liam and his writing for three reasons. One, he tells it fearlessly like it is, as he is, and not under some sheepish pseudonym. Two, just because he tells it like it is, doesn't mean it's true. Like all great comic writers, he polishes a grain of truth until it's a pearl of pleasure and beautifully-crafted debauchery that still smells true. Three, unless he's been lying to me, Liam is a deeply flawed individual with a heart of gold whose life is even more interesting than the stuff he makes up.' Dr Phil Hammond, author of 'Trust me, I'm a doctor' and Private Eye's 'MD' columnist'

A unique voice that combines insight, humour, and an often surreal style.' Richard Smith, BMJ editor-in-chief 1991-2004'

Razor sharp wit and allure. His personal account of his addiction is one of the most compelling I have ever read.'Chris Smith, The Naked Scientist

'General practice is the great unknown. We stand on the cusp of the beyond.Science takes us only so far, then the maps stop in the grey areas of intuition, imagination and feelings: here be dragons. Lurching from heart-breaking tragedy to high farce, we are the Renaissance men and women of medicine; our art is intangible. Anything can walk through our door...'

Family doctor, Irishman, musician, award-winning author, anarchist and recovering morphine addict, Liam became a columnist for the BMJ in 1994. He went on to write for many major publications, winning a series of prestigious awards; in 2005, he was the first doctor to win Columnist of the Year in the Periodical Publishers Association awards.

The book contains a selection of Liam's best work, from his columns, blogs and short stories.Brilliantly funny, glittering with literary allusion and darkly wicked humour, this book is much more than a collection of stand-alone anecdotes and whimsical reflections, rather a compelling chronicle of the daily struggles - and personal costs - of a doctor at the coalface.

Dr Liam Farrell was a family doctor on the Irish border and is an award-winning writer and seasoned broadcaster. He was a columnist for the British Medical Journal for 20 years and currently writes for GP, the leading publication for general practitioners in the UK. He has also been a columnist for The Lancet, the Journal of General Practice, the Belfast Telegraph and the Irish News. He wrote the entry on sex for The Oxford Companion to the Body. On Twitter he curates #Irishmed, a weekly global 'tweetchat' on all medical issues.