Illness, death and those who help

In 2020 the poet, performer and writer Michael Rosen caught Covid. Admitted to hospital, the doctors told him that he needed to be put into a coma and that there was only a 50/50 chance of him emerging alive – without the coma his chances of survival were nil. He did survive and Many Different Kinds of Love is his story about that period and about his subsequent recovery.

The author is an expert storyteller who has charm and technique to make this book life affirming but also thoughtful and challenging. He mixes the narrative with some line drawings and poems so that you look at what happens from a number of different angles. He explores how the illness affects others including his wife and family but also those caring for him professionally. The chapter of the book composed of the hospital notes of the nurses and staff overseeing him during his induced coma show the compassion and personalities of some of the army of health professionals who helped him.

This is a love story to the NHS and its staff and also a reminder of those dark days when Covid could, and did, strike down the seemingly healthy and kill so many. I’d advise you to read this in the physical book format because the layout of the pages and the presentation of the poems are important. This is a short book but it’s very moving and I recommend it. I also recommend his book The Missing (see my review here) which tells the story of his Jewish relatives who did not survive the Nazis.