How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-31 08:51:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lynette Rice
- ISBN：1472290313
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Summary
The first inside story of one of TV's most popular and beloved dramas， Grey's Anatomy。
More than 15 years after its premiere， Grey’s Anatomy remains one of the most beloved dramas on television and ABC's most important property。 It continues to win its time slot and has ranked in the Top 20 most watched shows in primetime for most of its 17-season run。 It currently averages more than 9 million viewers each week。
More than that， it’s been a cultural touchstone。 It introduced the unique voice and vision of Shonda Rhimes， it made Ellen Pompeo， Sandra Oh and T。R。 Knight household names， and injected words and phrases into the cultural lexicon like “McDreamy，” "seriously，" and “you’re my person。” And the behind-the-scenes drama has always been just as juicy as what was happening in front of the camera， from the high-profile firing of Isaiah Washington to Katherine Heigl’s fall from grace and Patrick Dempsey's shocking death episode。 The show continued to hemorrhage key players， but the beloved hospital series never skipped a beat。
How to Save A Life takes a deep dive into the show’s humble start， while offering exclusive intel on the behind-the-scenes culture， the most heartbreaking departures and the more polarizing plotlines。
More than 15 years after its premiere， Grey’s Anatomy remains one of the most beloved dramas on television and ABC's most important property。 It continues to win its time slot and has ranked in the Top 20 most watched shows in primetime for most of its 17-season run。 It currently averages more than 9 million viewers each week。
More than that， it’s been a cultural touchstone。 It introduced the unique voice and vision of Shonda Rhimes， it made Ellen Pompeo， Sandra Oh and T。R。 Knight household names， and injected words and phrases into the cultural lexicon like “McDreamy，” "seriously，" and “you’re my person。” And the behind-the-scenes drama has always been just as juicy as what was happening in front of the camera， from the high-profile firing of Isaiah Washington to Katherine Heigl’s fall from grace and Patrick Dempsey's shocking death episode。 The show continued to hemorrhage key players， but the beloved hospital series never skipped a beat。
How to Save A Life takes a deep dive into the show’s humble start， while offering exclusive intel on the behind-the-scenes culture， the most heartbreaking departures and the more polarizing plotlines。
Reviews
Marci
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If you're hoping for some juicy gossip， pass on this- it's just a copy-paste of old interviews。 If you're hoping for some juicy gossip， pass on this- it's just a copy-paste of old interviews。 。。。more
Karly
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There were some interesting titbits throughout the book。 I wasn’t a fan of how not everyone had in brackets who they were throughout because I had to keep skipping back to the start as I don’t know everyone’s real name。 That annoyed me。 The fact that Ellen Pompeo becomes a massive diva who is quite disliked in recent years isn’t explored and there was no omg moments about Alex Karev’s character leaving which makes me think that there is much more to the behind the scenes of this show and the per There were some interesting titbits throughout the book。 I wasn’t a fan of how not everyone had in brackets who they were throughout because I had to keep skipping back to the start as I don’t know everyone’s real name。 That annoyed me。 The fact that Ellen Pompeo becomes a massive diva who is quite disliked in recent years isn’t explored and there was no omg moments about Alex Karev’s character leaving which makes me think that there is much more to the behind the scenes of this show and the personalities “in charge” than meets the eye。 Ellen apparently， goes from 11 seasons of sitting in the background to demanding more money and running the show to the point people can’t take pictures without her say so。 Seems weird no one would want to or is allowed to dish the dirt。 Greys was a great show that became a good show that’s become a no show for me。 。。。more
Jaime Lee
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4 1/2 starsI didn’t realize going in that this would be a compilation of interview clips， spliced together to tell the story of Grey’s behind the scenes。 But it was a very interesting read all the same。
Jessica Terry
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Even though I quit watching Grey's Anatomy years ago， I still enjoyed this。 It's actually pretty inspiring， hearing some of how they developed the stories and stuff。 It's pretty amazing that the show has lasted this long。 I dug it。 Even though I quit watching Grey's Anatomy years ago， I still enjoyed this。 It's actually pretty inspiring， hearing some of how they developed the stories and stuff。 It's pretty amazing that the show has lasted this long。 I dug it。 。。。more
Mary
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Loved learning more about one of my favorite shows
Michaela Dodds
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This was so interesting to see the behind the scenes of such a great show。 To actually hear from the writers and people who aren’t seen but make the show what it is。 Super entertaining book。
Phylicia
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Fascinating。 I wasn't expecting interview after interview。 I do not like that it goes from the beginning of the book near the end。 It gets complicated， so I had to pay attention。 For example， people are alive， and then Derek's dead， or even more recent episodes。 HOWEVER， I do like that it talks about behind the scene stuff。 Another example， talk about a patient with a certain situation like the person who kept eating her hair and had a hairball， the person discussed the details about how they ma Fascinating。 I wasn't expecting interview after interview。 I do not like that it goes from the beginning of the book near the end。 It gets complicated， so I had to pay attention。 For example， people are alive， and then Derek's dead， or even more recent episodes。 HOWEVER， I do like that it talks about behind the scene stuff。 Another example， talk about a patient with a certain situation like the person who kept eating her hair and had a hairball， the person discussed the details about how they make it look realistic。 It discusses people leaving。 There are people I forgot about or don't remember。It talks about Station 19， so cool， How to Get Away with Murder， Private Practice， and othersI love Station 19。 I can't stand How to get away with murder。 But that's just me。 I don't like crap like "MerDer" Meredith and Derek， but I guess if Jennifer Lopez aka "JLo" can do it with her name， why not？ I think it's stupid also。 Everyone is doing it。 Slang， lazy。 There are a few photographs "How to Save a Life" and others are based on song titles。 Awesome song， I think。 。。。more
chris
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recommended: unless you're a super fan and already know all the people involved with the show， it would be helpful to like have a cheat sheet of the cast/crew as reference because this book bounces around A WHOLE LOT with quotes from one person to the next and I was really lost most of the time with who was talking （not their name but who they were in relation to the show）。didn't like: jumping around in the timeline and with the interviews which messed up the pacing/drama/hook part for me， the t recommended: unless you're a super fan and already know all the people involved with the show， it would be helpful to like have a cheat sheet of the cast/crew as reference because this book bounces around A WHOLE LOT with quotes from one person to the next and I was really lost most of the time with who was talking （not their name but who they were in relation to the show）。didn't like: jumping around in the timeline and with the interviews which messed up the pacing/drama/hook part for me， the title （love this song but this was like WAY the wrong title for this book imo）， a cast/crew cheat sheet should be included as PDF reference material。liked: they interviewed a lot of people and/or got quotes from multiple other news/media sources， gives you an idea of the downside of productions like this and how badly organized/run they are and like you get on one of these shows and you have little to no control of your time/schedule/etc。 bc they'll literally run you into the ground and don't seem to care which I don't get at all， the differing perspectives on who might have been/be a self-serving person or not and why they might have acted in such a way （relating back to the production insanity）。 。。。more
John Gilbert
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A must read for any fan，and gives you insite on the cast。 The true stories behind the screen not what the media portrayed。
Heather Stewart
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DNF on page 30。。realized I don't care about the production of a TV series DNF on page 30。。realized I don't care about the production of a TV series 。。。more
Sarah
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The world's longest Entertainment Weekly article。 The world's longest Entertainment Weekly article。 。。。more
Autumn
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This was a pretty good book， but do not listen to the audiobook。 I could not tell who was quoted， if it was a quote， or the author speaking。 I would recommend this as a kindle book or physical copy。
Julie Ackeret
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Fun， conversational read of behind-the-scenes moments on set。 Unfortunately there wasn’t a whole lot of new or jaw-dropping information。 Seemed as though most of the content was just pulled from otherwise public interviews。 Either way， I enjoyed the book and recommend to all Grey’s fanatics。 Fun read。
Zarah Larsson ♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀
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this was actually such a good read， i loved getting a behind the scenes look at things and hearing them talk about the production and process of making specific episodes and also about the departures and the atmosphere on set throughout the years etc。i also loved getting to read about the drama and the things that went down over the years that ive heard of， but i didnt really know that much about， so it was really interesting to see more of the picture and everything that happened and that led t this was actually such a good read， i loved getting a behind the scenes look at things and hearing them talk about the production and process of making specific episodes and also about the departures and the atmosphere on set throughout the years etc。i also loved getting to read about the drama and the things that went down over the years that ive heard of， but i didnt really know that much about， so it was really interesting to see more of the picture and everything that happened and that led to these events。 。。。more
Fenja
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As a Grey’s Fan who is super obsessed with the show and loves to read I had to buy it。 I absolutely don’t regret it。 I loved it。 Some of the information I already knew， but a lot of them were totally new for me。 Loved it！！ Must have for a Greys fan
Tayla Redepenning
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I enjoyed this book。 It was interesting to get to see behind the scenes of Grey's Anatomy characters， actors/actresses， scenes， etc。（October - Addams Family Challenge） I enjoyed this book。 It was interesting to get to see behind the scenes of Grey's Anatomy characters， actors/actresses， scenes， etc。（October - Addams Family Challenge） 。。。more
Jamie
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Quick read if you are a fan of Grey's Anatomy。 Otherwise， don't bother。 Quick read if you are a fan of Grey's Anatomy。 Otherwise， don't bother。 。。。more
Ogunkoya
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Hi do I read the book please
Brant
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A Breezy easy read， full of quotes， not alot of new or a true "inside" story， kinda felt like i was reading an expanded version of the show's Wikipedia page。 A Breezy easy read， full of quotes， not alot of new or a true "inside" story， kinda felt like i was reading an expanded version of the show's Wikipedia page。 。。。more
Martha Southgate
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Kind of a very exhaustive magazine article。 But as someone who has watched the show from day one， it was a fun trip down memory lane。 Sounds like fame and very long hours went to a lot of heads， unfortunately。 Also the amount of caution folks had about discussing anything that wasn’t already public knowledge was…interesting。
Gabrielle Stoller
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Was this book earth shattering？ NoWas it award winning？ No。Do I care？ Not really。Considering I just did a rewatch of Grey's Anatomy， it was fun learning some behind the scenes things。 #Japril。 And of course， you learn things you wish you hadn't。 （Like Ellen Pompeo might not be the nicest to work with）。。。。still， I read a book。 Yay。 Was this book earth shattering？ NoWas it award winning？ No。Do I care？ Not really。Considering I just did a rewatch of Grey's Anatomy， it was fun learning some behind the scenes things。 #Japril。 And of course， you learn things you wish you hadn't。 （Like Ellen Pompeo might not be the nicest to work with）。。。。still， I read a book。 Yay。 。。。more
Andrea
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3。5。 como fan rehabilitada de grey’s anatomy tenía que leer esto para que explicaran todo el drama detrás de esta serie del demonio que era mi cosa favorita pero después se volvió una pesadilla。 fue bien entretenido de leer porque amo el drama pero con toda la propaganda que le hicieron pensé que iba a tener la verdad revelada。 de todas formas entiendo que no es posible saber todo， pero pues una es tonta y se hace ilusiones。
Michelle
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I did find this an interesting read as I love Grey’s。 I just feel like a lot of it was just excerpts from previous interviews。 I did enjoy getting all the perspective from the writers and producers though！
Mediaman
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Code Blue--this book is a deadly， wrong-headed， disappointing "oral history" of the TV show。 It required almost no writing on the part of the "author" （who wrote almost nothing so she simply was an editor） and includes a whole lot of quotes taken from a variety of sourses， often out of context or making no sense when pieced together。 Rice depends way too much rehashed info from her own Entertainment Weekly， which is a biased propaganda publication that kisses up to Hollywood instead of offering Code Blue--this book is a deadly， wrong-headed， disappointing "oral history" of the TV show。 It required almost no writing on the part of the "author" （who wrote almost nothing so she simply was an editor） and includes a whole lot of quotes taken from a variety of sourses， often out of context or making no sense when pieced together。 Rice depends way too much rehashed info from her own Entertainment Weekly， which is a biased propaganda publication that kisses up to Hollywood instead of offering objective journalism。 She even quotes the EW writers she worked with， like about what they thought when interviewing Ellen。 Seriously？ Seems like space filler and giving credence to those that didn't do a good enough job "reporting" on the show in the first place。 If anything this book proves how weak Entertainment Weekly truly is at being more than just a PR tool for Hollywood， and Rice is one of the main ones to go right along with it。This should have been completely written by an objective author who knows how to tell the true "inside story" instead of just providing a skewed view based on limited rehashed perspectives and her own bias from years trying to cater to those in the TV business。 Some readers will be happy just to find a few juicy bits here that confirm some of the rumors， but if you're looking for a true narrative regarding how the show was created， produced， and acted then you won't find it here。 It's like a bad cut-and-paste term paper a student would turn in for a school project in order to avoid doing the true work。 Rice even ends the book with the last sentence saying "the real story is never going to be fully told。" You judge whether that makes the book worth ready。 For me it was DOA。 。。。more
Akhmal Aiman
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Rating: 4？5？/5 starsHow do you rate a book that is a collection of responses from the creators themselves？This was truly insightful！ I've always wondered how and why some episodes were made。 The book covers some iconic episodes from the earlier （and a bit on the later） seasons: The cutting of Dr。 Yang's wedding dress， the musical episode in season 7 featuring Dr。 Callie Torres， the sexual assault episode in season 15， McDreamy's & Dr。 Burke's dramatic exits （oof！ these were dark） & the short-liv Rating: 4？5？/5 starsHow do you rate a book that is a collection of responses from the creators themselves？This was truly insightful！ I've always wondered how and why some episodes were made。 The book covers some iconic episodes from the earlier （and a bit on the later） seasons: The cutting of Dr。 Yang's wedding dress， the musical episode in season 7 featuring Dr。 Callie Torres， the sexual assault episode in season 15， McDreamy's & Dr。 Burke's dramatic exits （oof！ these were dark） & the short-lived casting of a hijabi doctor （Dr。 Qadri）。But also the insights on the drama of the actors in real life。 TJ Knight & Isaiah Washington's homophobia episode， Katherine Heigl's diva controversy， Ellen Pompeo's racist remarks。 Y'ALL。 But most importantly: Shonda Rhimes's journey to become THE most paid woman in TV history （and it's not stopping anytime soon）。 Everything you need to know about the history of Grey's Anatomy is in the book。 It's really worth a read if you're a die-hard fan。 As long as you don't mind reading MAJOR spoilers of the TV series （but I'm sure they're nothing you don't know of， knowing how the spoilers were heavily covered on social media）。I guess why I love the book so much is because it's told from the creators themselves and not merely interpretations and observations of the author。 I love this。 Thank you， Grey's。 。。。more
Alice Tropp
，
I found this book very interesting， learning the behind the scenes aspect of the show bringing a new light to my addiction。 The different writers putting their opinions of the way the show was run and how the show was run is the main reason I found this book intriguing。 Even the small facts that probably other people didn't take interest in I did， like way they created the fake blood and things like that。 Overall， I loved the book and it brought a new side of Grey's that I had never learned abou I found this book very interesting， learning the behind the scenes aspect of the show bringing a new light to my addiction。 The different writers putting their opinions of the way the show was run and how the show was run is the main reason I found this book intriguing。 Even the small facts that probably other people didn't take interest in I did， like way they created the fake blood and things like that。 Overall， I loved the book and it brought a new side of Grey's that I had never learned about before。 。。。more
Gina Smith
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One-day read。 Not a lot of new info- a few fun tidbits。 Fans of the show will enjoy。 Not in chronological order， so a little confusing。 A lot of lesser players quoted by real name， and although there is a character index， it was hard to recall who was speaking，
Noelle
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Fun inside look for fans of the show。 Contains tons of spoilers， so make sure you're caught up through season 17。 Fun inside look for fans of the show。 Contains tons of spoilers， so make sure you're caught up through season 17。 。。。more
Jim
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UnnecessaryWasn’t expecting a bunch of interviews—especially when it’s ones for the book vs。 taken from past interviews with no clear distinction。
Jennifer Pritzker
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