Nurse Life and the Next Life: A Nurse’s True Stories of Life versus Death in the Emergency Room

by Dani Jacobs

Mr. Kelly was dead. My eyes fixed on my once breathing, talking, alert, and oriented patient, who was now pale, still, without emotion, lying on his hospital bed. I was four hours into my first shift as a nurse with my own patient, but this was not how I pictured my career starting. My first patient, my only patient of the night, my sole responsibility, had died, four hours into my first shift flying solo. This couldn't be happening. For Dani Jacobs, an emergency room nurse, experiencing death is almost an everyday occurrence. As a young nurse Dani wants only to stop death and help give his patients a chance at life. Yet as each code blue comes into his life, a new struggle begins to burden the young nurse. Follow Dani along the highs and lows with his patients as he faces what he fears most in life, death.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 6, 2016

Reviews

[Vicky Peplow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read!

I love reading books like this one as I enjoy reading about real life and what the nurses have to live with. I have a huge respect for all the nurses that work their butts off to help us. I only took a star away because there was a few spelling issues throughout the book. I'll definitely be reading the next book by this nurse\author.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Danis books. They don't take long to read at all but I would happily read more of them. Interesting insights too

[Remiela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Dani Jacobs masterpiece. His writing hits that rare balance between laugh-out-loud funny and gut-punch true. He writes about nursing in a way only someone who’s lived it can—unfiltered, sharp, compassionate, and real.

We always joke about nurses having “dark humor,” but, really, it’s coping and survival, babe.
We joke because if we don’t, we break. Behind every sarcastic one-liner is someone carrying the weight of 12-hour shifts, grieving patients we barely had time to mourn, and catching mistakes that could’ve cost lives.

This book is only 150 pages, but I stretched it over two weeks because I couldn’t let it go. I was out of books like this—honest ones that depict the beauty and brutality of the job.

I’ve been off work for a month, and going back made me feel stiff and rusty. But reading this brought me back—to the chaos, the tiny victories, the stubborn hope. I read a few pages before every shift, and it grounded me. It made me feel proud, seen, reminded.

People like to think nurses are just code-callers or doctors’ assistants. But this book painted the backbreaking work of how it’s really like: calming an agitated patient, charting nonstop, admitting and coding patients back to back, charting, answering call lights for every random request, changing diapers of your beloved, incontinent grandparent, charting, and trying to keep people alive while also keeping them safe from falls, from themselves, from any error, and so on, and so on—all in ONE SHIFT.

Jacobs reminds us of the quiet power in what we nurses do—and why, even when it drains us, we still come back.

And so: thank your nurses!!!
You DON’T KNOW how much a “thank you” goes a long way. It lifts our spirits in the darkest, sweatiest moments. It’s fulfilling for us to know that we helped. It makes us feel seen. And we appreciate it every. single. time. ❤️

[Jill C McKeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does an excellent job capturing the daily challenges faced by ER nurses, skillfully weaving together his personal experiences and professional realities. His clear, accessible narrative style avoids heavy medical jargon, offering readers an insightful and humanizing glimpse into life in the emergency room.

[Carla Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life of a Nurse

I’m a RN and I’ve read both of Dani’s “Rant” books. So totally true!! I’ve been able to “live” vicariously through these books without having to deal with all the stress. Thank you, Dani!! Hopefully he’ll write a third book.

[Catherine Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

CUTS TO THE BONE

This is a sensitive portrayal of an ER nurse and the passion that lead him to his profession. He introduces you to his family and his patients in such a way that you feel you've met them.

[Alice Persons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absorbing memoir

The book is marred by many errors that a copy editor should have corrected: waive for wave, truck for trunk and many others, plus missing words. This is amateurish and distracting.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read!

I want to become a nurse and this book was informs and eye opening. I loved all the stories and experiences told.

[Judi Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Dani Jacobs!

Dani brings us along for the ride as he deals with life and death issues in the ER. Always a good read.

[Tomi Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

"..nursing is an attitude. It is a day-to-day mindset that is applied to every patient, regardless of who they are."

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this!

An honest, educational and inspiring look at the life of a nurse in the ED. Immersive, complex, and touching! Of course I’m off to read his other books!

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories about working in an ER, with the emphasis on working with people that were dying.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, interesting book

Dani writes about the day to day realities of working in an emergency department. There is drama and excitement, but not all shifts are filled with that. The book reads like non-fiction, though it is a novel.