Tree Barking: A Memoir

by Nesta Rovina

Tales of a health-care worker the triumph of compassion and dignity over poverty and bureaucracy As a home health therapist, Nesta Rovina has seen and heard it a stroke victim who learned to roll off her bed at night to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of rival gangs and drug dealers; a man who lived off grass and bugs for a week while fleeing his native Laos; a sixteen-year-old gunshot victim who was left for dead by a man targeting prostitutes; a heroin addict who after having her left hand amputated when it is infected from frequent injections begins popping on her right hand. Yet, on the good days, when Rovina s patients share their stories over home-cooked dinners, the result can be an alchemical transformation of mind, heart, and spirit. In these moments, sickness, poverty, and the chaos of the streets outside are forgotten. The bureaucracy of the health-care system is forgotten. The world-weariness and jadedness of the therapist is forgotten. These days of warmth and camaraderie keep Rovina going and give her hope for humanity. Then, Rovina s own story begins to from her upbringing in South Africa, through family tragedy in Israel, to her decision to become a health-care worker. We sympathize as she confronts America s bruised and battered health-care system; we cheer her on as she joins a union fight against county layoffs, and with her we find compassion and understanding for all her housebound clients who no matter their circumstances carry on with faith, humor, and kindness.

Genres: Medical

196 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Nesta Rovina was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. She received a degree from Rhodes University, in Grahamstown. During her eleven years in Israel, she spent eight years on Kibbutz Ein Dor and received a degree in occupational therapy in Jerusalem. Rovina has lived and worked in the Bay Area since 1980 and she completed her masters degree at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda. Her essays have been published locally and in England. She now works as an early intervention home health therapist."

Reviews

[manatee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read this book recently because I remember loving it so much. I gave it to my sister and the other day I overheard her telling a guest at a holiday party how much she loved it and promising to save her a copy. I was still taken by the simplicity of the writing on the 2nd go round. I also find myself telling people about incidents in the book all the time.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!