Smart, scary, hilarious, horrifying, sane, insane, tender, angry, truthful, grotesque. Both a nightmare and a testament to the power of love (and the love of books!). If Charles Willeford or Philip K Dick had worked in American health care they might have written a memoir like this. Disturbing, inspiring, fantastic. Read it!”

– Paul Giamatti, Actor & Bibliophile

“Adam Axler’s fantastic medical memoir pulls back the curtain on emergency medicine in the United States with writing that is both irreverent and deeply moving. Axler brings to memoir what I love about science-fiction: the ability to tackle dystopian themes in a way that is intensely readable and deeply critical of contemporary society, and yet somehow hopeful.”

– Tesla Monson, PhD Professor of anthropology & author of Beginnings

“American Triage gave me the gift of laugh-out-loud moments that perhaps resonate most with those of us who have shared similar years of work in the trenches. But more than humor, the vignettes of patients force us to look eye to eye with the current state of medicine in American, which is at times bleak. Axler’s book is an homage to the people who care for us and also a call to action.”

– Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari, Author Labor: One Woman’s Work

“Axler demonstrates a real skill for pinpointing systemic failures and bringing them to light. These powerful stories build to a disquieting conclusion: both practitioners and patients may be reaching a collective breaking point.

A sharp, urgent critique that’s at its most powerful at the intersection of lived experience and hard science.”

– Kirkus Reviews

“American Triage deftly walks the razor’s edge between the Grand-Guignol insanity of the ambulance and ER theatres and the tragedy of burnout and breakdown. From 9-1-1 to 9/11, the terrible absence revealed by these collapses invites an uncanny return of imagination and creativity. Axler’s memoir is a wonderful tribute to madcap friendships, to weirdos, to the damaged and lost, and to the redemptive forces of art and love.”

– James Reich, author of Skinship

Wow, this book packs a punch. It deals with the decline of Western medicine with humor and a healthy dose of skepticism— the kind of jadedness that comes from working in a broken system. Really great stuff.”

– Rachel León, author of How We See the Gray

“American Triage pulls back the gurney cover on the healthcare profession to reveal the hardship, politics, hilarity, and tragedy involved with decades working in emergency medicine. Through witty and poignant writing —including a terrifying account of his work at Ground Zero on 9/11– Axler delivers insightful anecdotes that inform as much as entertain. This brief yet powerful memoir deserves a spot on the shelves alongside classics in the genre like Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. Highly recommended.”

– Greg Mollin, author, Owner of Artifact Books