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A Nurse's Story: Life, Death, and In-Between in an Intensive Care Unit
The team of nurses that Tilda Shalof found herself working with in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a big-city hospital was known as “Laura’s Line.” They were a bit smart, funny, disrespectful of authority, but also caring and incredibly committed to their jobs. Laura set the tone with her quick remarks. Frances, from Newfoundland, was famous for her improvised recipes. Justine, the union rep, wore t-shirts emblazoned with defiant slogans, like “Nurses Care But It’s Not in the Budget.” Shalof was the one who had been to university. The others accused her of being “sooo sensitive.”They depended upon one another. Working in the ICU was both emotionally grueling and physically exhausting. Many patients, quite simply, were dying, and the staff strove mightily to prolong their lives. With their skill, dedication, and the resources of modern science, they sometimes were almost too successful. Doctors and nurses alike wondered if what they did for terminally-ill patients was not, in some cases, too extreme. A number of patients were admitted when it was too late even for heroic measures. A boy struck down by a cerebral aneurysm in the middle of a little-league hockey game. A woman rescued – too late – from a burning house. It all took its toll on the staff.And yet, on good days, they thrived on what they did. Shalof describes a colleague who is managing a “crashing” “I looked at her. Nicky was flushed with excitement. She was doing five different things at the same time, planning ahead for another five. She was totally focused, in her element, in control, completely at home with the chaos. There was a huge smile on her face. Nurses like to fix things. If they can.”Shalof, a veteran ICU nurse, reveals what it is really like to work behind the closed hospital curtains. The drama, the sardonic humour, the grinding workload, the cheerful camaraderie, the big issues and the small, all are brought vividly to life in this remarkable book.From the Hardcover edition.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
88 people are currently reading
2383 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
September 19, 2014
Wow, I really don't like this book. It is redundant and not very well written. I was put-off by the broad assumptions the author made when assisting the priest to find Catholic patients based on last name. But then, I was completely horrified that the author decided to brush off a concern of potential sexual abuse; justifying it by saying that there is not much difference in a penis and a foot. I'm sorry - do you need to return to A&P? Maybe the professional requirement of Mandated Reporting is not present in Canada? One nurse said she had no doubt in her mind what was going on. The author writes that it is "dangerous and wrong to raise such serious allegations without proof." No, that is absolutely untrue. Nobody is asking her as a nurse to prove it, but as healthcare professionals we are mandated to report suspicions. Reporting on concerns does not equal being judgmental or without compassion. The nursing team also seems completely oblivious of the physical and emotional needs of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. If a person needs complete and total care in his or her daily life and does not have the intellectual capabilities to understand sex, he or she cannot consent to sex. Therefore, if someone has sexual contact with that person, it is abuse.
November 5, 2016
This is a very tender and emotional story of a nurse and her experiences working in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a Toronto hospital. And for your warning there is also rawness in her narrative – people are in the I.C.U. not because they choose to be, but because they are very sick and very vulnerable. Some live and others do not – it is the last stage of their lives.
The author has little patience with those who wish to prolong life unnecessarily (a position I entirely agree with).
She also struggles with the emotional cost of her job – she cannot distance herself from the suffering she encounters on a daily basis of the patients and the anguish family members go through. One of her few outs’ is the repartee (often gallows humour) with her colleagues.
There is much dialogue which enhances the flow in the book making it a page-turner. This is an exquisite read and it spoke to me – it is the reality of life at the extreme.
Page 245-46 (my book)
One was supposed to get inside the patient, see things from the patient and family’s point of view, think and feel like the patient, take on what that person was experiencing... by knowing them in this way could the nurse give the greatest gift: empathy, the hallmark of the professional nurse.... a nurse who was not sensitive to a patient’s emotions, who did not help to assuage bad feelings... was simply not meeting a basic requirement of the job... Had anyone ever considered the toll such emotional receptiveness took on most of us... how one could stay sensitive to the patient’s experience, see things from their point of view, be compassionate, and still manage not to get pulled down with them into despair and sadness, or be affected by their anger and frustration?... Who could sustain it into a lifelong career?
Page 282
Nothing affected me nearly as much as when a family member brought in a photograph. It was only then, gazing at that photograph, that I began to learn the story I longed to know. A missing puzzle piece was suddenly slipped into place... In one sense, it seemed a family’s way to put us on notice... “This is who they really are,”
Page 127 - below happened on Christmas Eve
The parents’ backs, as they turned and walked out the door, moving farther and farther away from the body of their son, leaving it behind with us, entrusted to our care, was the saddest sight I had ever seen.
The author has little patience with those who wish to prolong life unnecessarily (a position I entirely agree with).
She also struggles with the emotional cost of her job – she cannot distance herself from the suffering she encounters on a daily basis of the patients and the anguish family members go through. One of her few outs’ is the repartee (often gallows humour) with her colleagues.
There is much dialogue which enhances the flow in the book making it a page-turner. This is an exquisite read and it spoke to me – it is the reality of life at the extreme.
Page 245-46 (my book)
One was supposed to get inside the patient, see things from the patient and family’s point of view, think and feel like the patient, take on what that person was experiencing... by knowing them in this way could the nurse give the greatest gift: empathy, the hallmark of the professional nurse.... a nurse who was not sensitive to a patient’s emotions, who did not help to assuage bad feelings... was simply not meeting a basic requirement of the job... Had anyone ever considered the toll such emotional receptiveness took on most of us... how one could stay sensitive to the patient’s experience, see things from their point of view, be compassionate, and still manage not to get pulled down with them into despair and sadness, or be affected by their anger and frustration?... Who could sustain it into a lifelong career?
Page 282
Nothing affected me nearly as much as when a family member brought in a photograph. It was only then, gazing at that photograph, that I began to learn the story I longed to know. A missing puzzle piece was suddenly slipped into place... In one sense, it seemed a family’s way to put us on notice... “This is who they really are,”
Page 127 - below happened on Christmas Eve
The parents’ backs, as they turned and walked out the door, moving farther and farther away from the body of their son, leaving it behind with us, entrusted to our care, was the saddest sight I had ever seen.
March 9, 2009
This book was mildly interesting but poorly written and even more poorly edited. The narrative was choppy and repetetive and basically boiled down to a couple of different points: she was too sensitive, others weren't sensitive enough, nurses don't get enough respect and drastic end-of-life or life-prolonging measures are unnecessary and cruel. While I agree with some of her points the author tends to belabor them in the book. Some of the patient's stories were interesting and compelling but others were, quite frankly, unnecessary and crude. The "tiny dancer" anecdote springs to mind.
October 21, 2009
The real picture of what it is to be a nurse. Sweet, sweat, bodily fluids and more.
This story by Tilda Shalof expresses part of the same journey she describes in her book The Making of a Nurse. Only she wrote A Nurse's Story first and I read it second. Still very highly recommended -- for anyone with a stout heart that is.
It is perfectly titled. In each chapter she explores an area of nursing care:
* How the primary object nurses are known by is a bedpan and its infamous contents
* Giving compassionate care without judgment
* When is SO much care too much care
* Graduation with a degree is only the beginning of the journey to becoming a nurse
* Finding your niche within nursing
* The complex complimentary and contradictory relationship between doctors and nurses
* Keeping you as a person separate from you as a nurse: for sanity sake and the patient's sake
I was constantly surprised at her bravery and thankful for her sharing.
how she doesn't care who laughs or snickers at her opinions and what she feels strongly about -- how many decisions about end of life care are left in a nurse's hands -- how she able to label when she was defencive or angry and then use those situations to improve her care -- how determined she is to advance the profession of nursing and chuck out the bedpan -- how her natural inquisitiveness led to nursing research -- how she overcomes herself to become an awesome nurse
Once again she had me in tears on one page, my fingers wishing I could be part of a procedure on the next page. I'd read anything she wrote.
And I'm so immensely proud that she is out there speaking on our behalf with such optimism about our profession. I think that's what I love best about Tilda. She knows all the pros and cons of nursing, but she doesn't seem hardened by them. Her writing shows that she practices with immense hope and energy, all to the benefit of her work and patients. If only I could be one-quarter of the nurse she is one day.
If I live up to it, please put this quote from her book on my gravestone...
"She was a woman who conquered herself so that she could serve others."
This story by Tilda Shalof expresses part of the same journey she describes in her book The Making of a Nurse. Only she wrote A Nurse's Story first and I read it second. Still very highly recommended -- for anyone with a stout heart that is.
It is perfectly titled. In each chapter she explores an area of nursing care:
* How the primary object nurses are known by is a bedpan and its infamous contents
* Giving compassionate care without judgment
* When is SO much care too much care
* Graduation with a degree is only the beginning of the journey to becoming a nurse
* Finding your niche within nursing
* The complex complimentary and contradictory relationship between doctors and nurses
* Keeping you as a person separate from you as a nurse: for sanity sake and the patient's sake
I was constantly surprised at her bravery and thankful for her sharing.
how she doesn't care who laughs or snickers at her opinions and what she feels strongly about -- how many decisions about end of life care are left in a nurse's hands -- how she able to label when she was defencive or angry and then use those situations to improve her care -- how determined she is to advance the profession of nursing and chuck out the bedpan -- how her natural inquisitiveness led to nursing research -- how she overcomes herself to become an awesome nurse
Once again she had me in tears on one page, my fingers wishing I could be part of a procedure on the next page. I'd read anything she wrote.
And I'm so immensely proud that she is out there speaking on our behalf with such optimism about our profession. I think that's what I love best about Tilda. She knows all the pros and cons of nursing, but she doesn't seem hardened by them. Her writing shows that she practices with immense hope and energy, all to the benefit of her work and patients. If only I could be one-quarter of the nurse she is one day.
If I live up to it, please put this quote from her book on my gravestone...
"She was a woman who conquered herself so that she could serve others."
December 11, 2011
It's pretty technical at times, and does sort of just meander from patient to patient, but I liked this book. It seems to put into concise terms the balance of reward and emotional price in this high stress area of medicine. How a 'good death' is often the best outcome. My daughter works in this field, and I can see why she loves it and how at the same time some cases eat her up inside. Doing this work well is a gift for which these blessed few can pay a high price.
I would say this is a good read for everyone--because any one of us may face having to make decisons for our loved ones, and deserve to do so with open eyes.
I would say this is a good read for everyone--because any one of us may face having to make decisons for our loved ones, and deserve to do so with open eyes.
December 20, 2019
3.5 stars. This story was honest, sad, and disturbing all in one. As an aspiring nurse, I appreciated the honesty of this book and that it didn’t try to glorify or sugarcoat the thoughts and feelings of nurses who are faced with challenging cases in an oftentimes challenging work environment. I would recommend this book to any of my nursing friends, as well as to those who aren’t nurses but are interested in seeing what a nurse’s day to day at work can entail. The medical jargon might be a little too much for those unfamiliar with the profession, but this book resonated with me and made me want to undertake the challenge of being a nurse even more.
October 28, 2013
This is a great book filled with stories about what nurses experience everyday. Shalof doesn't just stick to the pretty stuff either - she explores many interesting, difficult and rewarding parts of nursing. I think that fellow nurses will not be able to put this book down, but this is also an important book for the general public, who may not really understand what is happening in hospitals/healthcare these days. I recommend this highly to family, friends and colleagues.
April 10, 2009
An excellent biography of the life of an Intensive Care Nurse who worked in the various hospitals in Toronto.
Tilda Shalof begins her nursing career with great trepidation and a lack of self-confidence. Working on a life-like dummy in a classroom is a whole lot different than attempting to install an I.V. in a real live person. Many of the tasks a nurse must perform takes great courage, self-confidence and a belief and understanding of what you are doing, what you are trying to accomplish and how best to accomplish it with the least amount of discomfort to the patient. Tilda is terrified the first time she must master what is known as an arterial stopcock, which is a valve in an I.V. line that gives doctors and nurses instant and immediate access to a patient's circulation. Without practice, this is not an easy skill to master.
However, the group of nurse's that Tilda works with in the Intensive Care Unit are all well-trained professionals who provide Tilda with some much need confidence boosting. Nicole is a kind and courageous woman, Tracy is generous to a fault and Laura is intelligent and possesses the most skillful hands of the group. Together, they work as a team and as one-on-one caretakers to their patients in the I.C.U.
Tilda encounters many tragic and ill people during her tenure in the I.C.U. such as cancer patients, stroke patients, accident victims and even one woman who wants to get a sample of her boyfriend's sperm to perserve before he dies!
Equally tragic for Tilda are some of the families she must deal with and treat with a different type of care - emotional care and support. Other families require more of a mediator to halt arguments in front of a dying patient or to be asked not to talk in front of the patient as if they are dead.
Nursing presents many challenges and problems that nurses must learn to deal with and deal with well. Tilda learns to treat both the patient and the families effectively. Aided by her team mates and motivated by her own morals and ideals, she conquers her initial fears of self-doubt and lack of self-confidence.
This is a definite read for anyone who is a Nurse or part of a Nursing team. The general public may find this story interesting if they don't mind going behind the hospital curtains to learn about what really goes on and...it's not all happily ever after cures.
Tilda Shalof begins her nursing career with great trepidation and a lack of self-confidence. Working on a life-like dummy in a classroom is a whole lot different than attempting to install an I.V. in a real live person. Many of the tasks a nurse must perform takes great courage, self-confidence and a belief and understanding of what you are doing, what you are trying to accomplish and how best to accomplish it with the least amount of discomfort to the patient. Tilda is terrified the first time she must master what is known as an arterial stopcock, which is a valve in an I.V. line that gives doctors and nurses instant and immediate access to a patient's circulation. Without practice, this is not an easy skill to master.
However, the group of nurse's that Tilda works with in the Intensive Care Unit are all well-trained professionals who provide Tilda with some much need confidence boosting. Nicole is a kind and courageous woman, Tracy is generous to a fault and Laura is intelligent and possesses the most skillful hands of the group. Together, they work as a team and as one-on-one caretakers to their patients in the I.C.U.
Tilda encounters many tragic and ill people during her tenure in the I.C.U. such as cancer patients, stroke patients, accident victims and even one woman who wants to get a sample of her boyfriend's sperm to perserve before he dies!
Equally tragic for Tilda are some of the families she must deal with and treat with a different type of care - emotional care and support. Other families require more of a mediator to halt arguments in front of a dying patient or to be asked not to talk in front of the patient as if they are dead.
Nursing presents many challenges and problems that nurses must learn to deal with and deal with well. Tilda learns to treat both the patient and the families effectively. Aided by her team mates and motivated by her own morals and ideals, she conquers her initial fears of self-doubt and lack of self-confidence.
This is a definite read for anyone who is a Nurse or part of a Nursing team. The general public may find this story interesting if they don't mind going behind the hospital curtains to learn about what really goes on and...it's not all happily ever after cures.
January 20, 2014
THe beginning of this book intrigued me, and held my attention. I hold nurses and doctors in the highest esteem, and know that the majority of care is provided by the nursing staff. I have to say as I continued however, that this book disturbed me just a little bit. No, I am not in the medical profession but found this book to hit very close to home as I have been a patient in the ICU on a number of occassions. I understand that the nurses need some relief - it IS a very demanding job that they do. I have been fortunate to be in the care of some absolutely amazing nurses! Halfway through the book I began dreading that I would hear a story about me, as I too was in a Toronto hospital. I cannot believe that all nurses are that insensitive with their comments, many patients hear more than people think they do.
Tilda and her friends do a job that is stressful, and both physically and emotionally demanding. I understand that. I do not understand how it can be made more bearable by demeaning the people they are there to care for. People who generally speaking are going through the most horrific times of their lives. More than that however, is not understanding the family too is suffering. I have always said that the patient has the easy part - it is the loved ones who witness all of the horror. Perhaps a little more sensitivity towards them Tilda would make it easier to deal with. Even towards the end I could see how nurses need to create a distance between themselves and their patients. They must go home and carry on, without the weight of suffering and death on their shoulders. The straw that broke this reader's back however was when the author had the audacity to say that her profession is the only one that requires them to get emotionally involved in the lives of their "clients". How dare she presume to know just how involved one must become to perform any job, from selling insurance to teaching our future generation (many of whom require to be taught enough compassion to become nurses!)
Tilda and her friends do a job that is stressful, and both physically and emotionally demanding. I understand that. I do not understand how it can be made more bearable by demeaning the people they are there to care for. People who generally speaking are going through the most horrific times of their lives. More than that however, is not understanding the family too is suffering. I have always said that the patient has the easy part - it is the loved ones who witness all of the horror. Perhaps a little more sensitivity towards them Tilda would make it easier to deal with. Even towards the end I could see how nurses need to create a distance between themselves and their patients. They must go home and carry on, without the weight of suffering and death on their shoulders. The straw that broke this reader's back however was when the author had the audacity to say that her profession is the only one that requires them to get emotionally involved in the lives of their "clients". How dare she presume to know just how involved one must become to perform any job, from selling insurance to teaching our future generation (many of whom require to be taught enough compassion to become nurses!)
November 1, 2014
I think this book would have greatest appeal to those already in the nursing profession. While I usually enjoy fiction and non-fiction with medical content I found this book quite disturbing. I was prepared to read about trauma and death given the ICU environment but was "ill-prepared" to learn of the pervasive cavalier attitude of nurses towards the families of the sick and dying. The families were often portrayed as needy and self-serving, and the patient taking up much needed bed space. I appreciate the need for a nurse's emotional coat of armor but compassion must reign. Shalof portrays herself as caring and compassionate yet failed to report suspected incest of a disabled patient! The important messages she has shared relate to the importance of DNR, dying with dignity, and the impact of politics on the quality of nursing care.
February 12, 2011
of course i would love this book since i am and icu nurse. i really didn't want this book to end i found it very well written! i think people who don't like this book probably aren't nurses and don't understand the issues and hardships our profession faces. every nurse should read this book!
September 24, 2025
My 📖book as a forward by a doctor who spends half the introduction talking about how surprised he was that nurses are so knowledgeable, involved and passionate about their care, and the second half plugging his own books. I just rolled my eyes. Ms. Shalof does a great job describing what nursing is like in the real world—it’s not the sexy outfits and 🛏️bed baths of kinky dreams. She accurately portrays what it is like to be a new nurse in a specialty area, the fears and insecurities. I’m saddened that things haven’t changed much in the last twenty years, and I think this is a great 📖book for nursing students to read going into their careers.
December 27, 2023
1/2 way through DNF. Hard pressed to give this book 1 star.
August 7, 2016
Time taken to read - 6 days
Publisher - Emblem Editions
pages - 368
Blurb from Goodreads
The team of nurses that Tilda Shalof found herself working with in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a big-city hospital was known as “Laura’s Line.” They were a bit wild: smart, funny, disrespectful of authority, but also caring and incredibly committed to their jobs. Laura set the tone with her quick remarks. Frances, from Newfoundland, was famous for her improvised recipes. Justine, the union rep, wore t-shirts emblazoned with defiant slogans, like “Nurses Care But It’s Not in the Budget.” Shalof was the one who had been to university. The others accused her of being “sooo sensitive.”
They depended upon one another. Working in the ICU was both emotionally grueling and physically exhausting. Many patients, quite simply, were dying, and the staff strove mightily to prolong their lives. With their skill, dedication, and the resources of modern science, they sometimes were almost too successful. Doctors and nurses alike wondered if what they did for terminally-ill patients was not, in some cases, too extreme. A number of patients were admitted when it was too late even for heroic measures. A boy struck down by a cerebral aneurysm in the middle of a little-league hockey game. A woman rescued – too late – from a burning house. It all took its toll on the staff.
And yet, on good days, they thrived on what they did. Shalof describes a colleague who is managing a “crashing” patient: “I looked at her. Nicky was flushed with excitement. She was doing five different things at the same time, planning ahead for another five. She was totally focused, in her element, in control, completely at home with the chaos. There was a huge smile on her face. Nurses like to fix things. If they can.”
Shalof, a veteran ICU nurse, reveals what it is really like to work behind the closed hospital curtains. The drama, the sardonic humour, the grinding workload, the cheerful camaraderie, the big issues and the small, all are brought vividly to life in this remarkable book.
My Review
Tilda Shalof tells us her story of her time working in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from starting out to years later as an experienced ICU nurse. We are introduced to some of the people she works with, her team of nurses, doctors, families, patients and the things that have brought them into the unit.
From the perspective of someone who works in the health care sector I think it will be an interesting read to see how this particular unit runs, the situations they face and how they deal with it. To the average person who has no association to this kind of work I think it is an eye opener to see what a shift can entail for a nurse.
The story is certainly interesting although there was a few parts I inwardly shuddered at. For example when Tilda refers to a patient as something other than human (creature may have been the word), whether she felt that or not, as a professional caring for a vulnerable individual I just felt it was disrespectful and very wrong. Highlighting some of the things the nurses say to cope with the horrific things they have to see and carry on from I think could have also been left out or watered down. Again professionals within that type of work appreciate that often humor is the only way to survive some of the horrors they face, however to someone who has only ever lost a loved one in a hospital they will be upset I think by some of the things written. Some of the tales of the story are amazing to think what people can come through, how far medicine and medical intervention can do and whether it should be done. It certainly makes you think and wonder how things would be if you were in the situations that come up within the book.
It is a good paced book and is certainly an interesting read, I'm not sure I would rush out to buy something else she has written but I would read it if I came across it, 3/5 for me this time.
Publisher - Emblem Editions
pages - 368
Blurb from Goodreads
The team of nurses that Tilda Shalof found herself working with in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a big-city hospital was known as “Laura’s Line.” They were a bit wild: smart, funny, disrespectful of authority, but also caring and incredibly committed to their jobs. Laura set the tone with her quick remarks. Frances, from Newfoundland, was famous for her improvised recipes. Justine, the union rep, wore t-shirts emblazoned with defiant slogans, like “Nurses Care But It’s Not in the Budget.” Shalof was the one who had been to university. The others accused her of being “sooo sensitive.”
They depended upon one another. Working in the ICU was both emotionally grueling and physically exhausting. Many patients, quite simply, were dying, and the staff strove mightily to prolong their lives. With their skill, dedication, and the resources of modern science, they sometimes were almost too successful. Doctors and nurses alike wondered if what they did for terminally-ill patients was not, in some cases, too extreme. A number of patients were admitted when it was too late even for heroic measures. A boy struck down by a cerebral aneurysm in the middle of a little-league hockey game. A woman rescued – too late – from a burning house. It all took its toll on the staff.
And yet, on good days, they thrived on what they did. Shalof describes a colleague who is managing a “crashing” patient: “I looked at her. Nicky was flushed with excitement. She was doing five different things at the same time, planning ahead for another five. She was totally focused, in her element, in control, completely at home with the chaos. There was a huge smile on her face. Nurses like to fix things. If they can.”
Shalof, a veteran ICU nurse, reveals what it is really like to work behind the closed hospital curtains. The drama, the sardonic humour, the grinding workload, the cheerful camaraderie, the big issues and the small, all are brought vividly to life in this remarkable book.
My Review
Tilda Shalof tells us her story of her time working in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from starting out to years later as an experienced ICU nurse. We are introduced to some of the people she works with, her team of nurses, doctors, families, patients and the things that have brought them into the unit.
From the perspective of someone who works in the health care sector I think it will be an interesting read to see how this particular unit runs, the situations they face and how they deal with it. To the average person who has no association to this kind of work I think it is an eye opener to see what a shift can entail for a nurse.
The story is certainly interesting although there was a few parts I inwardly shuddered at. For example when Tilda refers to a patient as something other than human (creature may have been the word), whether she felt that or not, as a professional caring for a vulnerable individual I just felt it was disrespectful and very wrong. Highlighting some of the things the nurses say to cope with the horrific things they have to see and carry on from I think could have also been left out or watered down. Again professionals within that type of work appreciate that often humor is the only way to survive some of the horrors they face, however to someone who has only ever lost a loved one in a hospital they will be upset I think by some of the things written. Some of the tales of the story are amazing to think what people can come through, how far medicine and medical intervention can do and whether it should be done. It certainly makes you think and wonder how things would be if you were in the situations that come up within the book.
It is a good paced book and is certainly an interesting read, I'm not sure I would rush out to buy something else she has written but I would read it if I came across it, 3/5 for me this time.
October 18, 2012
This was an interesting read and good insight into nursing. I still want to have my husband read it and tell me how it compares to how he perceives his work as a nurse. Overall it was well-written, but nothing that just floors you. What it does offer is chance to ask yourself a few questions about our priorities in health care and our societies inability to accept death as a natural part of life. I would have like a little more depth into the why of that fact instead of re-hashing the inhumanity of dragging a dying person through endless procedures. But perhaps this book was not the place for that sort of question, since it is more of a personal look into nursing more than anything else. I feel the book came together nicely in the end. There was a noticeable development in the nurses, and Tilda shifts from personal crisis to a capable researcher and observer. The same shift we have all felt to a certain degree in any career. I really enjoyed this book, and it was a quick read. I'm not sure if I'd pick it up again, but I had many opportunities to think a little more deeply than your typical book.
November 24, 2015
I'm not sure who recommended this, but it had particularly high ratings, so I was really looking forward to reading it! First off, let me say, if you know of someone who is considering getting into nursing, get them this book as a gift. It is an eye opening book about nursing and what goes on behind the scenes, written by a nurse about her experiences in the ICU. However, after being a teacher in public schools, I quickly got tired of the complaints of the nurses that I would hear often among teachers..."We don't get paid enough", "We aren't valued"....on and on. Obviously, if you are going into one of the helping fields, you aren't going to get paid a lot or be valued a lot. Know that BEFORE you enter the industry! So, for me, I found it to be an interesting read, but felt that some stories should not have been shared, just to protect the dignity of patients, even if the names were changed. However, this would be a priceless book for someone considering nursing as a profession.
January 14, 2016
I am fascinated by what a day in the life of a medical professional is like so this book really appealed to me. The writing is conversational and not very well edited but that didn't detract from the content, at least for me. You could probably read the first half and have the same reader experience as if you read the entire book.
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August 2, 2011I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down..A great book for nurses to read...it shows that nurses everywhere are the same and we all deal with the same as well as different issues!
July 11, 2012
Excellent book! Tilda shares fascinating stories from her many years as an ICU nurse.
December 18, 2013
This book should be mandatory reading by every Canadian. An eye opener as to what goes on in our hospitals for better and worse.
July 20, 2024
I read the first half in December, put it down, and just picked it up to finish yesterday...I rarely can finish non fiction in a timely manner!
August 29, 2019
I got this book for free and felt like it's one of the books that I will probably never read. I started reading and it gets interesting! The book is a selected recount of Tilda's experience working in the ICU, starting from a rookie to slowly becoming a veteran. Tilda worked with a team of caring, smart and witty nurses, by how much they are in her stories, I can see how fundamentally important teamwork is among nurses. Tilda described her friends well, they seem realistic and relatable, and likable. I think it's somewhat dramatized, maybe it's just that I have never met anyone as consistently witty as Laura or as funny as Justine.
It's a great book to see the operation of the hospital in the nurses perspective. It described carefully the personalities of nurses and patients. The stories are intimate, which lead the reader to their personal lives, allow one to think beyond the gowns of patients and nurses. I love knowing how patients's family help their love ones when they are intensely ill. There are loving ones and there are strange and selfish ones. One interesting idea of the book is the emotional toll of being a nurse and how to deal with it. Nurses deal with it differently. Some shut themselves out of patients's personal life, some connect with the patients and deal with the sadness of loss. It is a theme is still being explored by the narrator, who's been a nurse for 15 years at the time.
It's a great book to see the operation of the hospital in the nurses perspective. It described carefully the personalities of nurses and patients. The stories are intimate, which lead the reader to their personal lives, allow one to think beyond the gowns of patients and nurses. I love knowing how patients's family help their love ones when they are intensely ill. There are loving ones and there are strange and selfish ones. One interesting idea of the book is the emotional toll of being a nurse and how to deal with it. Nurses deal with it differently. Some shut themselves out of patients's personal life, some connect with the patients and deal with the sadness of loss. It is a theme is still being explored by the narrator, who's been a nurse for 15 years at the time.
July 18, 2020
I don’t know how to rate this book for like-ability, many parts were equally interesting as off putting. I’d like to give it at least 3.5 stars, not quite 4 stars.
Yes, it was interesting to hear about behind-the-scenes, yes it was engaging. My biggest take away was that even though the ICU nurses bear witness to a lot of death, they pride themselves in providing a “good death”...trying to ensure each patient has dignity. They ultimately orchestrate a humane death experience and that gratification is what keeps them going. Utopian? Perhaps.
The frustrating parts are not knowing what happened to many of the patients the author talks about. Did they make it or not?
You’ll enjoy this a lot if you like hospital stories.
Yes, it was interesting to hear about behind-the-scenes, yes it was engaging. My biggest take away was that even though the ICU nurses bear witness to a lot of death, they pride themselves in providing a “good death”...trying to ensure each patient has dignity. They ultimately orchestrate a humane death experience and that gratification is what keeps them going. Utopian? Perhaps.
The frustrating parts are not knowing what happened to many of the patients the author talks about. Did they make it or not?
You’ll enjoy this a lot if you like hospital stories.
January 10, 2024
Extremely readable and interesting, especially as a current nursing student. Other reviewers mentioned that parts of the book feel redundant, and while there are definitely a few major themes (the emotional strain Shalof feels and her sensitivity, ethics of withdrawing treatment, and nursing shortages, to name a few), each story was unique and offered a slightly different perspective. Shalof's outlook is refreshing because she portrays the real, raw truth of nursing and doesn't shy away from describing its physical and emotional difficulty, yet at the same time her love for the profession is so clear, and the bonds she forms with other nurses so strong. I finished the book feeling encouraged.
January 7, 2022
This was not an easy read. But I believe an important one. It is written by Tilda, who is an ICU nurse in Toronto. It is a little dated now, as it came out in 2004. (It was interesting to read the short part about SARS outbreak in the early 2000. I am sure many nursing and medical memoirs will come out about our current SARS pandemic.) She talks about her career in nursing from how it started until she was an experienced nurse. There were parts of this book that were so disturbing I had to put it down for a couple days. Our nurses do not get enough credit for the work that they do. They deserve so much more respect, appreciation, and money!
July 22, 2024
this felt like reading a stephen king novel. you know, that feeling when the story is incredibly crafted and fascinating for dozens of pages and then you run into the weirdest description of a sexual event that makes you consider wanting that man to be on a watchlist? and yet you finish the book like wow, that was an incredible story...despite those three pages. i'm sorry, but the fact that she wrote an entire chapter about suspecting that a mother was repeatedly having sex with her permanently and severely mentally disabled son and concluded the chapter with "who am i to judge how she decides to love him, to bond with him?". girl.....have you heard of mandated reporting?
August 28, 2025
On the whole it was a fairly decent behind the scenes account of the Life of an ICU nurse. Loads of medical jargon if the reader isn't clinical, I think a lot of the understanding would be lost. Really odd chapter about the Mom and son with the sexual relationship rumours..also inconsistent timing with real events. As a BMT RN the timeline of someone being in the ICU with Sepsis post bone marrow transplant did not jive with being diagnosed 2 weeks previously with AML. Some details were lost by the author, otherwise I enjoyed it
October 2, 2017
As a nurse, I can say that this book is raw and very true. It is often difficult to get individuals to allow their loved ones to die with dignity and this was a well made point in the book. Some stories may have been wrong (not reporting sexual abuse) but others were interesting and some even uplifting. This was a very good read as her stories and experiences as a nurse were depicted well and often times relatable.
August 23, 2018
She is a magnificent story teller with wonderful characters - both nurses and patients. At this time in history with such a fine line between life and death her book gives compassionate and heart-rending details of the challenges of being a nurse in the impossibly high-pressure of an Intensive Care Unit in a Toronto hospital. there is an awe of her ability to effectively function in the ICU environment.
October 1, 2021
Great picture of icu nursing and all the complexities and issues of extreme life saving care. I loved how she showed the expertise, frustrations and compassion of nursing. I’d feel better never hearing the story of Cindy and her 19 year old son in the ICU, but appreciated the nursing and family perspectives being told throughout this book.
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