David Nott is not your typical surgeon. While many doctors dedicate their careers to the relative safety of hospitals, Nott has spent 25 years venturing into the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. His memoir, War Doctor, offers a raw and compelling account of his experiences as a Doctor At War, providing life-saving treatment amidst unimaginable chaos.
Nott’s journey into humanitarian medicine began in 1993 in Sarajevo, a city under siege. Just two weeks into his first mission, the brutal reality of being a doctor in a war zone became terrifyingly clear. As he operated on a teenage boy wounded by mortar fire, the hospital itself was struck. Suddenly plunged into darkness, Nott found himself alone, desperately trying to save his patient while the rest of the medical team fled for safety. Tragically, the boy died, and Nott was left with a chilling realization: in these circumstances, a doctor at war must be both resilient and self-reliant. This harrowing incident, recounted in War Doctor, became a stark lesson. “I’d have to toughen up; second, I also had to take care of myself,” Nott reflects. “Not just because there was no one else there who was going to do that for me, but because I wouldn’t be helping anyone if I was dead.”
A mother in Sarajevo during the 1992 siege, depicted in a photograph, prepares to send her child to safety on a bus, highlighting the human cost of war and the context in which a war doctor like David Nott operates.
Unlike typical medical memoirs that describe the challenges of hospital life, War Doctor plunges into a different realm entirely. While books like Rachel Clarke’s Your Life in My Hands or Adam Kay’s This Is Going to Hurt depict the pressures of the medical profession in a domestic setting, Nott’s narrative is set against the backdrop of war zones. He doesn’t shy away from danger; instead, he is drawn to it. As he confesses in the prologue, it’s “a kind of addiction,” a powerful pull that he struggles to resist. His stories are filled with breathtaking accounts of courage and compassion in the face of death. Imagine jihadis storming a makeshift hospital, convinced he was a spy, only to be disarmed by sunset photographs on his camera. Or consider the surreal encounter with Mullah Omar, the feared Taliban leader, to secure permission to operate on a hemorrhaging young woman. Nott recalls Omar’s demeanor as “serene, almost statesman-like,” highlighting the bizarre contrasts inherent in his role as a doctor at war.
But what drives a person to repeatedly place themselves in harm’s way? Nott’s reflections in War Doctor delve into this complex question. Undoubtedly, altruism plays a significant role – a profound desire to use his skills in general and vascular surgery to save lives in desperate circumstances. However, his early experience in Sarajevo reveals a deeper, more visceral motivation. During an ambulance journey across the city, targeted by a sniper, Nott survived while a colleague tragically perished. His initial shock transformed into a surge of exhilaration. “I felt elated, exhilarated, euphoric,” he writes. “I had never felt more alive; it was as if I had been reborn … If I could cope with this, I thought, I could cope with anything.” This near-death experience ignited a profound and perhaps unsettling sense of purpose within him, solidifying his path as a doctor at war.
From Afghanistan and Libya to Sierra Leone, Iraq, Haiti, Syria, and Gaza, War Doctor chronicles Nott’s relentless travels to conflict and disaster zones. He operates in bombed-out buildings, makeshift mobile hospitals, and even outdoors, exposed to the elements. Resources are scarce, equipment is rudimentary, and staff are often undertrained. Yet, day after day, Nott confronts the brutal realities of modern warfare: mortars, barrel bombs, sniper fire, and the constant threat of violence. One of the most disturbing aspects he highlights is the deliberate targeting of hospitals and medical personnel. “To bomb and destroy hospitals is not just sinful,” he asserts, “it is evil.” War Doctor unflinchingly describes the horrific injuries he witnesses – a Haitian baby with a crushed skull, a pregnant woman deliberately shot by a sniper in Aleppo. These accounts are both astonishing and deeply distressing, illustrating the immense emotional toll on a doctor at war. It’s understandable that even someone as seasoned as Nott admits to breaking down and crying in the face of such suffering.
Despite the overwhelming chaos and trauma, Nott finds moments of solace and beauty amidst the devastation. He notices the beauty of the sky, admires the architecture that still stands, and appreciates the sounds of morning prayers. These glimpses into his inner world offer a deeper understanding of the man behind the surgeon. War Doctor is not a traditional memoir; Nott swiftly covers his childhood and medical training. Instead, the book vividly portrays his boundless energy, unwavering determination, and profound anger at human cruelty. It also touches upon the personal sacrifices inherent in his life as a doctor at war. Returning to London after weeks in Aleppo, he reflects on the stark contrast: “I might save one person’s life a month, whereas in Syria it had been ten a day.” His personal life suffered, marked by loneliness and a spartan existence. However, his life takes a turn when he meets Elly, who becomes his wife and the mother of his two children. This relationship brings a sense of peace and leads him to gradually reduce his deployments. This heartwarming conclusion to War Doctor provides a powerful contrast to the decades of suffering he witnessed. David Nott’s extraordinary life story, as told in War Doctor, is not just a testament to the resilience of the human spirit but also a compelling narrative that would undoubtedly translate powerfully to film, highlighting the incredible dedication of a true doctor at war.
