Wednesday's Children

by Kathryn Michaels

Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition for ISBN10: 0615773702 - ISBN13: 9780615773704.

Delivering welfare babies, warding off voodoo spells, and living in a culture that still seems to be fighting the Civil War-small wonder young registered nurse Kate Jacobs quickly grows disenchanted with nursing in the "lowcountry" of coastal South Carolina. When a friend urges her to switch from nursing to paramedic and child protection services social work, Kate accepts the challenge and finds herself in one of the most isolated areas of rural Appalachia. Here a whole new set of challenges await: technical cliff rescues, hikes into remote back-woods "hollers" to remove child victims of sexual assault from their homes only to have an indifferent judge order them back the next day, and dealing with some of America's poorest and most distrustful citizens. And from all appearances, and even though she's white, former members of the Ku Klux Klan have just set her house on fire... Based on the memoirs of a registered nurse-turned-social worker, this is a tale of heartbreak and laughter, courage and cowardice seasoned with a candid look at the early days of social work and emergency rescue medicine that will both challenge and renew your faith in humanity.

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2013

About the author

I was born a twin during the post World War II baby boomer years in Germany, but by the time I hit my formative years, my family had relocated to the eastern seaboard of America, not far from Manhattan. My educational career began with nursing, but I soon became interested in social work, landing a job as a Child Protective Services social worker in the mountains of rural Appalachia, where I fell in love with the locals and found my additional calling in river running, swift water rescue, ski patrolling, and mountain search and rescue. I eventually left social work and returned to family practice nursing—something that allowed me more time to raise my own daughters as a single mom.
When I’m not writing, I’m busy volunteering as an EMT for the local fire department, and am serving my thirty-fifth year as a ski patroller. In the early 2000s, I married an old and dear friend; Mike had been widowed a number of years earlier. We currently live on a small island in the Pacific Northwest with our three dogs, multiple sheep, and goats. I’ve learned that life is essentially as happy as you are willing to make it, and I have been blessed with an amazing life and an amazing family.

Reviews

[Matt Kurjanowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great insight into the mind of a Social Worker. The book also helped me process some of what I do and deal with in my life as an EMT. I read this book on the way back from Burning Man, where I had the opportunity to help people at their worst and at their best. I could easily related to the stories in here.

In addition to being a soul-moving book, the author's use of imagery, dialog, and other means of prose was spot on. The prose never got in the way of understanding what was being said, which I'm beginning to realize is a trait in a lot of similar books.
Highly recommended.

[m. jae' gilkerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was well written and I was right there with Kate as she encountered some of the situations she shared. I would highly recommend this book to one who is considering a medical career. I have been a RN for fourty plus years.

This was well written and I was right there with Kate as she encountered some of the situations she shared.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering a medical career.

[Debbie Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the author and to think she has done so much in her life to help other people especially abused children is awesome. The book is her true story of working in the rural areas of Appalachia.

[Katja Rina · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the subject matter is far from anything feel-good, the author has the amazing ability to take us into some of the darker aspects of our society and explore them with compassion and love. Her ability to blend social work and medicine with a very raw spirituality makes for a powerful read. I highly recommend it.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a depressing book. Slightly redeeming at the end, but not what I expected at all.