THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe first inside story of one of TV's most popular and beloved dramas, Grey's Anatomy.More than fifteen years after its premiere, Grey's Anatomy remains one of the most beloved dramas on television and ABC's most important property. It typically wins its time slot and has ranked in the Top 20 most-watched shows in primetime for most of its seventeen-season run. It currently averages more than eight million viewers each week.Beyond 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, such as "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 controversial departure 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.Lynette Rice's How to Save A Life takes a totally unauthorized 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. This exhaustively enthusiastic book is one that no Grey's Anatomy fan should be without.

Author's NoteCast of Characters1 "Pick Me, Choose Me, Love Me," or, How It All Began2 "The Fairy Tale May Be Slightly Different Than You Dreamed," or, Working with an Ensemble3 "You Give Them Someone to Run To," or, The Care and Feeding of Fans and Media4 "He's Gone. I'm Free," or, How Isaiah Washington Brought Shame to Seattle GraceInterlude: "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol5 "I Need a Reason to Get Up Every Morning," or, How Addison Montgomery Kicked Off the Spin- offs6 "You Fought. You Loved. You Lost," or, A Look Back at Some of the Most Polarizing Relationships on the Show7 "There's an End to Every Storm," or, How Katherine Heigl Went from Famous to Downright InfamousInterlude: "How to Save a Life" by the Fray8 "He's Very Dreamy, but He's Not the Sun," or, How Grey's Anatomy Loved-ThenLearned to Live Without-Patrick Dempsey9 "It's a Beautiful Day to Save Lives," or, The Guest Stars Who Survived and Some Who Didn't 10 "Somebody Sedate Me," or, How Grey's Anatomy Managed to Gross You Out11 "Not Everyone Has to Be Happy All the Time. That Isn't Mental Health. That's Crap," or, Eleven of the Most Memorable Episodes of Grey's Anatomy12 "Trauma Always Leaves a Scar," or, The Most Heartbreaking Departures and Deaths . . .Interlude: "Keep Breathing" by Ingrid Michaelson13 "We Have to Keep Reinventing Ourselves, Almost Every Minute, Because the World Can Change in an Instant," or, How Shonda Rhimes and Ellen Pompeo Became the Highest-PaidWomen in Television14 "Everybody Wants Their Place in History," or, Deciding When to Hang Up the ScrubsEntertainment Weekly SourcesAcknowledgmentsIndex