This entry is part of the series Health on the Shelf

Medical dramas have always been popular shows to watch on TV or to stream. The Good Doctor, The Resident, and House are just a few examples. And I am sure you remember ER. Maybe we watch to confront illness from the safety of our homes. Maybe we like to be reminded that however much we need doctors and nurses and other medical staff to be perfect, they are people too. Or, we think we are getting a look at a world just outside our reach. Maybe we just like a good story. Whatever the reason, medical dramas are here to stay.

But while these shows may be based on real life, and have consultants, and try to be as realistic as possible, we know that they are not quite the real thing. If more realism is what you seek, or if your days are filled with worry that this may really be the last season of Grey’s Anatomy, try these non-fiction titles.

Every Minute is a Day: A Doctor, an Emergency Room, and a City Under Siege
White Hot Light: Twenty-five Years in Emergency Medicine
Life on the Line: Young Doctors Come of Age in a Pandemic
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Medical Resident
Open Heart: A Cardiac Surgeon’s Stories of Life & Death on the Operating Table
Seven Signs of Life: Unforgettable Stories from an Intensive Care Doctor
Also Human: The Inner Lives of Doctors