A revealing look at hospital life written with affection and clarity.
A Philadelphia-based nurse recalls her day-to-day life tending to the sick and dying in this unflinchingly honest debut memoir by Turnage.
In 1969, 17-year-old Susan Turnage was given her first task as a student nurse: to bathe a male patient. The words of her intimidatingly strict instructor rang in her ears: “Make sure you wash the groin area.” Once behind the bedside curtain, she confessed to her patient that she had never seen a man naked before. Her patient was equally embarrassed about having someone other than his wife bathe him. The two made a pact: “I do the pits, he does the parts.” Over the course of her career, Turnage collected a satchel full of stories about her interactions with patients. When working at a correctional facility, one of her first jobs was to provide advice on how to deal with an inmate who had a showerhead stuck in his rectum. Many stories are truly heartbreaking, such as that of Connie, a 15-year-old patient who had become pregnant after being sexually abused by her uncle, leading to a home-induced abortion using cola and lye that went horribly wrong. Turnage’s writing displays an effervescent, almost slapstick humor. When a patient jokes that she is spilling a bedpan, Turnage has the last laugh: “I opened my eyes wide and headed right for him, feigning a stumble and saying, ‘Woah, look out! I am carrying a big load.’ ” Turnage never holds back when describing a patient’s condition, and the results can be gruesome. When describing a wound on a patient’s foot, she writes: “maggots swarmed in the tennis ball-sized heel crater.” Some readers may find the writing shockingly blunt whereas others will see the matter-of-fact approach as a reflection of the realities of nursing. The memoir is given an extra dimension with a chapter entitled “Zero to Ten”; its opening considers a patient’s perspective: “The moment your butt hits the hospital bed, normal life disappears.” The result is a multitextured memoir that evokes a spectrum of emotions. Furthermore, this book gives those considering a career in nursing a strong sense of whether the profession is truly for them.
A revealing look at hospital life written with affection and clarity.Pub Date: June 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4575-6742-1
Page Count: 218
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
