Lessons from the Brink: What Death Can Teach Us About Living with Matt Morgan

Today’s episode explores one of the most profound and humbling themes in medicine: what the dying and those who’ve been brought back to life can teach us about living.

Dr. Matt Morgan is an intensive care consultant, researcher, and author of A Second Act, a book inspired by the hundreds of patients he’s met who have crossed the threshold of death and returned. People like Ed, struck by lightning and left without a pulse, are revived through rapid, decisive pre-hospital action. These are the individuals Dr. Morgan believes we should be listening to, not influencers or business gurus, but those who’ve faced the thin margins between life and death and emerged with new clarity about what truly matters.

In this conversation, we’ll reflect on the emotional and ethical challenges of working in the fog between life and death, the importance of listening to survivors, and the critical role pre-hospital teams play in offering second chances. We’ll also ask: how do we carry the weight of this work without losing our humanity?

This is a powerful episode about perspective, purpose, and the lessons that only the brink of death can reveal. Matt's book 'A Second Act' can be found here: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/A-Second-Act/Matt-Morgan/9781398532335

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