Library's review
I've read a few "cancer memoirs" over the past few years, and found the vast majority of them lacking. This was the only book that dealt with the experience of having cancer that I felt I could really relate to, even when Brown was writing about other types of cancer than the one I had. Her thoughtfulness and compassion for her patients also reflects the vast majority of nurses I was lucky enough to have care for me while I was sick.
I've since read several of Brown's op-ed columns in the New York Times, and it's always like getting back in touch with an old friend. I'm glad she's still writing about her experiences with patients and the struggle to find a dignified end to life.
Collection
Description
"At my job, people die," writes Theresa Brown, capturing both the burden and the singular importance of her profession. Brown, a former English professor, chronicles her first year as an R.N. in medical oncology. She illuminates the unique role of nurses in health care, giving us a moving portrait of the day-to-day work nurses do: caring for the person who is ill, not just the illness itself. Brown takes us with her as she struggles to tend to her patients' needs, both physical and emotional. Along the way, we see the work nurses do to fight for their patients' dignity, in spite of punishing treatments and an often uncaring hospital bureaucracy. We also see how caring for the seriously ill gives Brown herself a deeper appreciation of what it means to be alive. Ultimately, this is a book about embracing life, whether in times of sickness or health.--From publisher description.… (more)