... remarkably, with her sensitive reporting and deeply human portrayals of Sam, Gabriela, Iris, Elana, Ben and Jay, Goldberg has created a work that not just documents a significant moment in time but helps us heal from it, too. For anyone seeking to understand, or remember, what New York and its hospitals were like in the spring of 2020, Life on the Line is essential reading.

This is the kind of story that gives life to books about medical training. Unfortunately, there are too few of them here. The back story of the various characters takes too long. Drawn-out digressions on medical racism or the history of the internship system further disrupt the narrative flow. By the time we get to the wards, the book is nearly a third over. Goldberg would have done better, I think, to start the book when the internships begin and fill in the back story later. How Gabriella’s mother started her hair salon isn’t as interesting to us as the sounds, smells and action on the front lines.

Memorable, emotional, and even everyday anecdotes fill the pages.

... vivid and heart-wrenching.

... moving.