Healing

When a Nurse Becomes a Patient

By: Theresa Brown

Narrated by: Abby Craden

Length: 6 hrs

Publisher's summary

“A stunning book that helped me understand how to survive a serious illness and how to understand hospitals in general. Theresa Brown is also a hell of a good writer.”—James Patterson

From the mammogram that would change her life through her diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, New York Times bestselling author Theresa Brown, RN, tells a poignant and powerful story about having breast cancer in the United States.

Despite her training and years of experience as an oncology and hospice nurse, Brown finds it difficult to navigate the medical maze from the other side of the bed. Why is she so often left in the dark about procedures and treatments? Why is she expected to research her own best treatment options? Why is there so much red tape? At times she’s mad at herself for not speaking up and asking for what she needs but knows that being a “difficult” patient could mean she gets worse care.

Of the almost four million women in this country living with breast cancer, many have had, like Brown, a treatable form of the disease. Both unnerving and extremely relatable, her experience shows us how our for-profit health care industry “cures” us but at the same time leaves so many of us feeling alienated and uncared for. As she did so brilliantly in her New York Times bestseller, The Shift, Brown relays the unforgettable details of her daily life—the needles, the chemo drugs, the rubber gloves, the bureaucratic frustrations—but this time from her new perch as a patient, looking back at some of her own cases and considering what she didn’t know then about the warping effects of fear and the healing virtues of compassion. “People failed me when I was a patient and I failed patients when working as a nurse. I see that now,” she writes.

Healing is must-hear for all of us who have tried to find healing through our health-care system.

©2022 Theresa Brown (P)2022 Algonquin Books

Critic reviews

“Revealing and heart-wrenching . . . Alternating the narrative between her time as a nurse and as a patient, she passionately shares the range of emotions she felt and offers advice for both patients and nurses who are facing breast cancer . . . By sharing her story, Brown delivers much-needed advocacy for those who are often ignored or misunderstood. An essential read for all members of the medical community.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“An unflinching look by a former nurse at the lack of compassion in our health-care system and the harms that patients suffer because of it…Brown writes with a winning combination of passion, humor and medical knowledge.”—Washington Post

“An extraordinary writer, Theresa Brown brings the reader into all of her worlds, showing how cancer affected her as a patient, nurse, mother, daughter, wife, and friend. This is more than a good read. Oops, I am crying again.”—Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, Professor Emerita and Dean Emerita, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania

Feelings expressed similar to mine

I was fortunate when I discovered my breast cancer. I was already seeing the oncologist for colon cancer. I never had to wait for results or many of the things the author described. Thanks for detailing your experience. Every experience adds perspective. Happy you are in remission!

Enlightening

This book was very well written. Many of us knows a bit of what goes on in the medical community. However, the author enlightened me in a way I’ve never heard about. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is going through breast cancer treatment or any serious medical issues for that matter. Illness is not something people want to talk about. However, sometimes it’s necessary. Theresa Brown is an excellent writer.

Short but informative

This needs to be required reading for everyone at each level in the medical field.