What do you do when the most important person in your life is about to die?

Who can help you?

How do you keep going?

When Alison Murdoch’s husband catches viral encephalitis and falls into a life-threatening coma, everything changes. Bed 12 is a survival guide to the world of acute medicine, and a poignant and darkly comic account of what it’s like to fight for someone’s life. Over the course of a summer, machines beep and clatter, medical staff come and go, and family and friends of varying beliefs offer well-intentioned advice. For someone unfamiliar with hospitals, death and dying, the insights of Buddhism assume a greater relevance than ever before. This book is an astute, profound and uplifting insight into how to cope with despair, heartache and the unknown.

‘The object of my concern-or rather the entire focus of my current existence-is now lying in Bed 12.’

‘Riveting.’

Dr Bob Grove, former Chief Executive, the Centre for Mental Health.

‘Bed 12 is a love letter to the NHS, and the everyday acts of kindness that keep it afloat … it needs to be widely read.’
Dr Phil Hammond – NHS doctor, writer, broadcaster and comedian.

‘A fascinating and inspiring read for anyone who has experienced the serious illness of a friend or relative, or who wonders about their own mortality.’
Professor Clare Gerada MBE

‘This is a miraculous story told with great humanity.’
The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Richard Chartres KCVO DD FSA, Bishop of London (1995-2017)

‘A remarkable achievement. Bed 12 contains so much from which those of us providing intensive care could and should learn. ’
Richard Beale, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

‘It should be on the reading list for all nurses and doctors.’
Dr Bob Grove, former Chief Executive, the Centre for Mental Health