Rhea Mercado’s Compo: A Rehabilitation Consultant’s Journey is a heartfelt, insightful, and refreshingly candid exploration of life inside Australia’s workers’ compensation system. Blending memoir with professional reflection, Mercado chronicles her evolution from a young exercise physiologist to a seasoned rehabilitation consultant who’s learned that empathy and ethics are just as vital as clinical skill.

Through deeply personal stories about her family, mentors, and early career missteps, Mercado humanises the often-maligned world of compensation and rehabilitation. Her writing is conversational yet sharp, exposing both the system’s bureaucratic flaws and the humanity of the people within it. What stands out most is her unwavering commitment to compassion—“a social heart and a commercial mind,” as she calls it.

Each chapter feels like sitting across from a colleague over coffee: sometimes funny, sometimes raw, always honest. Mercado’s voice captures the fatigue, frustration, and hope that define this field, making the book a mirror for practitioners and a window for outsiders.

Ultimately, Compo isn’t just a professional memoir, it’s a call to remember that behind every claim number is a human story. Thought-provoking and deeply personal, it’s essential reading for anyone working in injury management or healthcare.