Here are 97 books that Medical School fans have personally recommended if you like Medical School. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of This Won't Hurt a Bit: (And Other White Lies): My Education in Medicine and Motherhood

David Z. Hirsch Author Of Didn't Get Frazzled

From my list on painfully honest training to become a doctor.

Why am I passionate about this?

I think our collective fascination with medical training is understandable. What bizarre sorcery molds otherwise sensible college graduates into fully functioning physicians? Is it possible to maintain your humanity in the process? Or any semblance of a normal relationship? While my book remains the only novel about medical school training, many great physician memoirs detail the typically exhausting, frequently bizarre, and ultimately gratifying experience of becoming a doctor. After graduating from Wesleyan University, I obtained my medical degree at New York University School of Medicine and trained in the primary care internal medicine program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. I live in Maryland with my wife and two children.

David's book list on painfully honest training to become a doctor

David Z. Hirsch Why David loves this book

Dr. Au adapts her popular, quirky blog into a candid memoir that explores her journey to become a doctor, employing both humor and a weary fortitude.

In the second half of her book, she balances pregnancy and early motherhood with the protracted hours and perpetual stress endemic to medical training. I found these later vignettes exploring the competing demands and her mounting insecurities particularly compelling.

By Michelle Au, MD ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked This Won't Hurt a Bit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Michelle Au started medical school armed only with a surfeit of idealism, a handful of old 'ER' episodes to reference, and some vague notion about 'helping people'. This is the story of how she grew up and became a real doctor.
Through her years in medical training, she also attempts to maintain a life outside the hospital as she and her resident husband decide to have a baby. A new mother struggling to balance long days and nights in the hospital with her 'real' life, Au finds herself in the classic struggle of working motherhood, trying to do two equally…


If you love Medical School...

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at Bellevue

David Z. Hirsch Author Of Didn't Get Frazzled

From my list on painfully honest training to become a doctor.

Why am I passionate about this?

I think our collective fascination with medical training is understandable. What bizarre sorcery molds otherwise sensible college graduates into fully functioning physicians? Is it possible to maintain your humanity in the process? Or any semblance of a normal relationship? While my book remains the only novel about medical school training, many great physician memoirs detail the typically exhausting, frequently bizarre, and ultimately gratifying experience of becoming a doctor. After graduating from Wesleyan University, I obtained my medical degree at New York University School of Medicine and trained in the primary care internal medicine program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. I live in Maryland with my wife and two children.

David's book list on painfully honest training to become a doctor

David Z. Hirsch Why David loves this book

Written as a series of essays focusing on her experiences with individual patients, Dr. Ofri walks us through the entirety of her training. As she grows in confidence, she learns how to heal her patients and herself.

Dr. Ofri had a life between college and medical school (unlike me), so even though she is older than I am, she started at NYU/Bellevue the year after I graduated. I enjoyed reading how patient care had progressed at Bellevue in the years following my great escape.

By Danielle Ofri ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Singular Intimacies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A “finely gifted writer” shares “fifteen brilliantly written episodes covering the years from studenthood to the end of medical residency” (Oliver Sacks, MD, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat)

Singular Intimacies is the story of becoming a doctor by immersion at Bellevue Hospital, the oldest public hospital in the country—and perhaps the most legendary. It is both the classic inner-city hospital and a unique amalgam of history, insanity, beauty, and intellect. When Danielle Ofri enters these 250-year-old doors as a tentative medical student, she is immediately plunged into the teeming world of urban medicine: mysterious…


Book cover of In Stitches

David Z. Hirsch Author Of Didn't Get Frazzled

From my list on painfully honest training to become a doctor.

Why am I passionate about this?

I think our collective fascination with medical training is understandable. What bizarre sorcery molds otherwise sensible college graduates into fully functioning physicians? Is it possible to maintain your humanity in the process? Or any semblance of a normal relationship? While my book remains the only novel about medical school training, many great physician memoirs detail the typically exhausting, frequently bizarre, and ultimately gratifying experience of becoming a doctor. After graduating from Wesleyan University, I obtained my medical degree at New York University School of Medicine and trained in the primary care internal medicine program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. I live in Maryland with my wife and two children.

David's book list on painfully honest training to become a doctor

David Z. Hirsch Why David loves this book

This fast-paced and often humorous memoir explores both medical school and the childhood experiences that led to Dr. Youn’s path as an outsider from the only Korean family in his small Michigan town to a celebrity plastic surgeon.

His redemptive progression from immature, sexually frustrated nerd to altruistic, dedicated physician should provide inspiration and hope for many anxious pre-meds.

By Anthony Youn ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Stitches as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tony Youn grew up up one of two Asian-American kids in a small town of near wall-to-wall whiteness. Too tall and too thin, he wore thick Coke-bottle glasses, braces, Hannibal Lecter headgear, and had a protruding jaw that one day began to grow, expanding Pinocchio-like, protruding to an unthinkable, monstrous size. After high school graduation, while other seniors partied at the shore or explored Europe, Youn lay strapped in an oral surgeon's chair as he broke his jaw, then reset it and wired it shut for six weeks.

Ironically, it was this brutal makeover that led him to his life's…


If you love John Lawrence...

Book cover of I, Robot Alien

I, Robot Alien by Joel R. Dennstedt,

“Intelligent, unique, and tremendously entertaining.” - Readers' Favorite 2025

BOOKLIFE EDITOR’S PICK!

EARTH… CENTURIES AFTER THE FALL!

I was created by beings who couldn’t touch this world... only watch it crumble. Every twenty years, a new tribe... a new hope... a new failure.

I was told, “Do not interfere.” But…

Book cover of This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Young Doctor

Rhona Morrison Author Of I Don't Talk to Dead Bodies: The Curious Encounters of a Forensic Psychiatrist

From my list on medical memoirs which take you 'behind the scenes'.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a retired, Scottish, NHS consultant forensic psychiatrist, who worked with mentally disordered offenders in prisons, hospitals, and in the community. I am passionate about raising awareness, destigmatisation of mental illness, and introducing the human beings behind the sensationalist newspaper headlines. They are all someone's son or daughter, who didn't ask to get ill. Occasionally mental illness makes good people do bad things. It was my job to find, treat and rehabilitate them. I believe entertaining medical memoirs can engage readers and inform thinking by challenging attitudes and assumptions.

Rhona's book list on medical memoirs which take you 'behind the scenes'

Rhona Morrison Why Rhona loves this book

I loved this memoir because it was humorous and it transported me back to my own days as a junior doctor in a District General hospital, in the mid-1980s.

The black humour of a medic combined with the real human stories made it very relatable. This, merged with an easy-to-read diary style, captured the true life experiences and dilemmas of a junior doctor working in the NHS perfectly.

It was a walk down memory lane for me and it would provide an amusing insight for non-medics.

By Adam Kay ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked This Is Going to Hurt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now an AMC+ series starring Ben Whishaw

The acclaimed multimillion-copy bestseller, This Is Going to Hurt is Adam Kay’s equally "blisteringly funny" (Boston Globe) and “heartbreaking” (New Yorker) secret diaries of his years as a young doctor.

Welcome to 97-hour weeks. Welcome to life and death decisions. Welcome to a constant tsunami of bodily fluids. Welcome to earning less than the hospital parking meter. Wave goodbye to your friends and relationships. Welcome to the life of a first-year doctor.

Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights, and missed weekends, comedian and former medical resident Adam Kay’s This Is Going…


Book cover of Restart

Dayna Lorentz Author Of Wayward Creatures

From my list on exploring ideas of justice and accountability.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a parent, I’ve been struck by the fierce sense of justice my children have, from the unfairness of one getting more screen time to bigger injustices, like bullying or discrimination. Kids have an innate sense of what’s right, of what’s fair, but they can also lack a sense of nuance and have rather Byzantine notions of what justice requires. I wrote Wayward Creatures to explore a different way of thinking about justice and accountability. Restorative justice practices seek to bring the offending party together with the people hurt by their actions to acknowledge the harm caused and find a solution together. These five books explore other aspects of what it means to seek justice.

Dayna's book list on exploring ideas of justice and accountability

Dayna Lorentz Why Dayna loves this book

I love stories that force characters to grapple with big questions. In both Wayward Creatures and Restart, the main character has done something they realize is huge and has hurt a lot of people. Only in Restart, the narrator, Chase, has suffered a traumatic brain injury and doesn’t remember anything about who he was or what he did. The story asks readers to think about what justice and accountability require, both inside and outside the courtroom.

By Gordon Korman ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Restart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

The amazing New York Times bestseller about what you can do when life gives you a second chance.

Chase's memory just went out the window. Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name. He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return. Some kids treat him…


Book cover of Permanent Present Tense: The Unforgettable Life of the Amnesic Patient, H. M.

Sandeep Jauhar Author Of My Father's Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer's

From my list on the complexities of Alzheimer's and dementia.

Why am I passionate about this?

For nearly 7 years I watched my father decline from Alzheimer’s. It was perhaps the most difficult journey I’ve ever taken. My book, My Father’s Brain, is a memoir of my relationship with my father as he succumbed to his disease, but it is also a scientific and historical inquiry into the fragility of the brain. In the book, I set my father’s descent into dementia alongside my own journey, as a doctor, writer, and son, toward understanding this mysterious and devastating disease.

Sandeep's book list on the complexities of Alzheimer's and dementia

Sandeep Jauhar Why Sandeep loves this book

Corkin, a research psychologist, presents a fascinating case study of her patient, Henry Molaison, a man with no memory. Molaison—or H.M., as he was known in the scientific literature until his death in 2008—was a 27-year-old with severe epilepsy when he underwent radical brain surgery in 1953 to cure his intractable seizures.

Though Molaison’s seizures largely abated after the operation, he developed an even bigger problem, which manifested almost immediately after his surgery. Daily events vanished from his mind almost as soon as they had occurred.

Like most patients living with dementia, he could form no new long-term memories. With no new memories, he lived in a perpetual present, disconnected from his past (or at least the past after his surgery) and his future.

By Suzanne Corkin ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Permanent Present Tense as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1953, 27-year-old Henry Gustave Molaison underwent an experimental psychosurgical" procedure,a targeted lobotomy,in an effort to alleviate his debilitating epilepsy. The outcome was unexpected,when Henry awoke, he could no longer form new memories, and for the rest of his life would be trapped in the moment. But Henry's tragedy would prove a gift to humanity. As renowned neuroscientist Suzanne Corkin explains in Permanent Present Tense , she and her colleagues brought to light the sharp contrast between Henry's crippling memory impairment and his preserved intellect. This new insight that the capacity for remembering is housed in a specific brain area…


If you love Medical School...

Book cover of An Heir of Realms

An Heir of Realms by Heather Ashle,

An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroines—a dragon rider and a portal jumper—who fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction. 

Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswen’s dream is to…

Book cover of The Maze Runner

Linda Lee Author Of Cursed

From my list on unconventional YA apocalyptic fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

As we watch the news–the increasing number of earthquakes, volcanoes, wars, inflation, the rapid progress of AI, unelected elites deciding they know best for the world, and more–we don’t know how to process it all, and it leaves us feeling anxious. My passion for helping my readers not just escape but actually live better fuels me. I created this retelling of the Book of Revelations from the POV of celestial warriors and fallen angels in the unseen realms of our world to allow my readers to “make more sense” of the world and be at peace.

Linda's book list on unconventional YA apocalyptic fantasy

Linda Lee Why Linda loves this book

Talk about crazy experiments! Maze Runner is an epic quest combined with a nod to those who love solving puzzles on steroids. This is truly an end-of-the-world scenario, or I surely hope it is. While I can see some mad scientists excited about such an experiment today, it is still frowned upon. Thank goodness. But Maze Runner explores “science” gone rogue.

Indifference again plays a central role in the plot as those outside the experiment use a variety of psychological warfare techniques to keep the participants engaged in the game. The reader feels sorry for them having to overcome everything that’s thrown at them or die. I loved how the group of teens had to work together to figure out what was going on and then face the difficulty of extracting themselves from the maze. Ultimately, I loved that friendship and working together triumphed at the end of the day.

By James Dashner ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Maze Runner as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The first book in the New York Times bestselling Maze
Runner series - now a series of major movies starring Dylan O'Brien!

SEE THE FILMS. READ THE BOOKS. ENTER THE MAZE ...

When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers
is his first name. But he's not alone.

He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a
walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone
maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to
be there - or what's happened to the world outside.

All…


Book cover of A Princess of Wind and Wave

Kristin Ardis Author Of Smoke and Light

From my list on fantasy with a twist on the amnesia trope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent years fascinated by how the mind works. In order to better understand myself and various situations in life, I've leaned into learning about psychology and neuroplasticity. Through that, I’ve found a greater appreciation for memories and how they affect us as a whole person. As a YA fantasy author, I’ve been able to explore themes of identity surrounding memory loss and how that influences relationships with ourselves and others. As a reader, I’m always thrilled to find another book that provides a solid twist on the amnesia trope! Below you'll find some of my best recommendations for young adult fantasy books that explore missing memories. Happy reading!

Kristin's book list on fantasy with a twist on the amnesia trope

Kristin Ardis Why Kristin loves this book

I love a good fairytale retelling and Melanie Cellier’s are consistently ones I enjoy. This retelling of The Little Mermaid caught my attention with the way it twists the amnesia trope. Rather than one character dealing with missing memories, the entire world has forgotten one of their fellow kingdoms, now submerged underwater. I thought that was such a clever twist and made for a fascinating foundation for the story! 

This was the perfect blend of sweet fairytale romance, twisted tropes, and a light, easy-to-read story. I loved listening to the audiobook before bed; the writing style is well-suited for it! I’ve already reread this book since the first time and imagine I will again!

By Melanie Cellier ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Princess of Wind and Wave as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Isla may be a mermaid princess, but she’s never felt at home in her undersea kingdom. Instead she dreams of the day her people can return to the surface—and the boy whose life she once saved. But while Isla foresees danger for her people beneath the ocean, she has no concept of the dark forces working to keep her people submerged.
When an impetuous vow sets her on the course of the truth, Isla discovers that shadowy foes beset the kingdoms of both land and sea. And when she finally finds herself onshore, Isla realizes the fight will require not…


Book cover of A Tangle of Dreams

Kristin Ardis Author Of Smoke and Light

From my list on fantasy with a twist on the amnesia trope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent years fascinated by how the mind works. In order to better understand myself and various situations in life, I've leaned into learning about psychology and neuroplasticity. Through that, I’ve found a greater appreciation for memories and how they affect us as a whole person. As a YA fantasy author, I’ve been able to explore themes of identity surrounding memory loss and how that influences relationships with ourselves and others. As a reader, I’m always thrilled to find another book that provides a solid twist on the amnesia trope! Below you'll find some of my best recommendations for young adult fantasy books that explore missing memories. Happy reading!

Kristin's book list on fantasy with a twist on the amnesia trope

Kristin Ardis Why Kristin loves this book

This was the most beautiful kind of slow-burn read for me. The characters gently pulled me in as the story wove together, and before long, I couldn’t help being thoroughly invested in Gemma, Milo, and Ollie’s story. I don’t read contemporary fantasy as much, but a book like this–where themes of friendship, family, enduring love, and dealing with change and grief abound–is almost guaranteed to draw me in.

This book did just that and then some! The memory exploration aspect of the book is a unique take involving dreams and magic, and a large part of why this book hits so hard by the end! Did I cry reading it? Yes. Do I have regrets? Absolutely not!

By Nicole Adair ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Tangle of Dreams as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

“Ollie, do you believe in magic?”

Gemma and Oliver have been best friends their entire lives. But no matter how well Ollie thinks he knows Gemma, there’s one secret standing between them, one secret she swore she’d never tell: magic is real. And she’s waited her whole life to have it. On their seventeenth birthday, Gemma and her twin brother, Milo, will be Claimed by one of the three branches of magic. Only then will they have access to the power they’ve always seen but been unable to touch.

Gemma’s counting down the days until she becomes one of the…


If you love John Lawrence...

Book cover of The Tao of Poison

The Tao of Poison by Isham Cook,

A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.

The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…

Book cover of In the Dark We Forget

Katie Tallo Author Of Dark August

From my list on Canadian thrillers about haunted messy characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ten-year-old me once looked in the bathroom mirror wondering who I would become. I tried to memorize the patterns in the tiles to hold on to that moment and carry it with me. My fascination with memory and the past permeates my novels. I love a good cold case—and my August Monet thriller trilogy is all about how the past weaves through the present—informing it, haunting it, transporting secrets. Maybe it’s our long, dark winters, but I see this same fascination in the novels of my fellow Canadian thriller writers. Many have created messy characters haunted by their messy pasts. Here’s a list of my favourites.

Katie's book list on Canadian thrillers about haunted messy characters

Katie Tallo Why Katie loves this book

A thriller with a kick-ass premise: Chloe wakes up on the side of a highway not knowing who the heck she is or how she got there.

It’s a haunting, scary, unnerving story about a woman trying to figure out what could have happened to completely wipe out her memory. What I love about the novel is how Wong’s relentless pace matches lockstep with her protagonist’s frenzied and fractured state of mind.

Bits of the past begin to slip through the cracks as Chloe searches for the truth. I love that Wong chose to tell the story from Chloe’s POV so we’re only privy to what this messy character remembers—or chooses to tell us that she remembers. Twisted, damaged characters with secrets are my cup of tea.

By Sandra SG Wong ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In the Dark We Forget as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A chilling, nerve-jangling journey into lost memories and unforgettable terrors. Sandra Wong knows what scares us all—and what we can never forget.” —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times–bestselling author of Listen to Me

A jolting psychological suspense novel from an up-and-coming Chinese-Canadian crime writer about missing parents, a winning lottery ticket and the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive.

Some things are better left forgotten . . .

When a woman wakes up with amnesia beside a mountain highway, confused and alone, she fights to regain her identity, only to learn that her parents have disappeared—not long after her…


Book cover of This Won't Hurt a Bit: (And Other White Lies): My Education in Medicine and Motherhood
Book cover of Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at Bellevue
Book cover of In Stitches

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Interested in amnesia, doctors, and impostor syndrome?

Amnesia 63 books
Doctors 104 books