I didn't have to hold the thought for too long. That Monday, Gail Guterl, the brains behind our book club here at ADVANCE, asked if I'd choose the November book. When I told her about the story I had heard, she said that would be great since November is, after all, National Home Health and Hospice Month. And when I got in touch with Dale Marie Clark, RN, executive director at Hospice Volunteers of the Waterville Area (to whom the book's proceeds benefit) and found out she shared a common bond with our book club members -- she's a registered nurse -- everything fell in place. Then, of course, I read the book, and couldn't have been more certain with my choice.

A great anecdote Clark told me, which unfortunately didn't make the podcast, concerned a phone call Lee Duff, a board member and volunteer at the association, received after the book was published. A man was struck by the story Russo wrote in which he profiled Duff and the difficulties Duff faced after his wife's health was declining due to Alzheimer's. After reading the story, the man decided the best thing for his wife was to put her in an assisted-living facility to get the care she needed.

Readers, what did you take away from reading these personal accounts?  

There are so many things I admire about Lt. Col. Deanna Germain : her humbleness, tenacity, compassion, just to name a few. Her journey to Iraq and the dedication with which she did her job under the worst circumstances are testaments to the human spirit and her role as a nurse. Some questions I have for Germain after reading the story:

1. Going into active duty, you were confident you would only serve 6 months because you were in a reserve unit. Then there was one delay, then two, then three. How did your feelings for the assignment and your work change throughout these uncertain times?
2. Your description of the dangerous convoy ride to the prison was so engaging. At one point, you said, "This was a moment in my life worth remembering." What are your memories of your trip and the importance of recalling it later?
3. At one point, you called Abu Ghraib home. Is this a testament to the power of resilience or just a way to cope?
4. Do you ever think about where your patients are now? If they’re living or dead? Patients like Bassem.
5. What got you through your time at Abu Ghraib and your tour of duty?

For other book club readers, how did you feel about the book?

Here are my thoughts:

The author's creative use of analogies...pg 124 ..."spin in circles like that crazy teacup ride at the amusement park" and insightful descriptions...Hospitals -"a storehouse of wounded strangers" pg 103

Her frustration with the healthcare insurance system...pg 216

Her strengthened intuition and power within...pg 179-180

Her positive attitude "your attitude is the only thing you control in your life.." pg 55 ---- and hope...pg 86-87

humor ..."beat themselves up and lose" ...pg 157....She has an amazing sense of humor!  Was she funny before "the incident"?

My questions:

• Is her initial healthcare team representative of the typical team of the average patient today who deals with the various individual personalities...Dr. Jerk, Dr. Neuro, etc.
• Why didn't the doctors ask her...what was different about the day you had your seizure? What did you drink / eat? What medications are you currently taking? What meds did you take on the day you had your seizure?

Lastly, I am in awe of her ability to remain positive and humorous through an extremely difficult "incident" which is essentially her new life and how she is still able to be a mother and a wife. I am more grateful because of reading about her experience...more aware of the importance of heels, toes, ...the little things everyone takes for granted.

What do you think?

To get things rolling, here are some questions about my book Don't Leave Me This Way. To discuss this book, scroll down and leave a comment.

• Nursing is achallenging job that requires consistent unfailing care and fulfilling more than one single need. What do you do for yourself to re-energize so that you can cope with the stress ofregularly responding to your patient's distress?
  
• How do you feel that often you're not only a caregiver, but an advisor as well to the patient and the patient's loved ones?
  
• Swapping roles from nurse to patient, ifyou were being treated in your hospital, would you be satisfied with the care?
  
• Do you ever find yourself 'labeling' a patient? For example, I had several labels attached to me duringmy long stay in the hospital--impulsive and impetuous, in denial, andstroke in 417?
  
• Are you happy that you chose nursing as a profession or do you feel disillusioned?

Q: I'm very intrigued to see your ESP, your prescience that you discussed in the book. You forsaw Daisy was misdiagnosed, you had a dream about a plane the night before 9/11, and you were sure your diagnosis was not what the doctors insisted. Was this ESP new post stroke or was it something you always had.

A: Julia Fox Garrison: Well, I believe we all have it; it's something that got fine tuned for me after my stroke. What it really is is listening to your inner voice, because that's your soul talking to you and it's the most honest voice you'll ever hear. I was able to trust it. Sometimes it can be scary. I remember Jim saying to me when I said they had made a mistake on Daisy's diagnosis ‘do you really just wish it so badly you believe it or do you feel it. And I felt it.  It's something we all have. It's just a matter of fine tuning and listening to it.

Q: The medical terminology and explanations in the book are very clear and concise. In fact, I believe at one point you were approached by a doctor after speaking before a group of physicians to compliment you on the accuracy and simplicity of your explanations of your medical condition. You were a software support manager before the stroke, what kind of research did you do in writing this book to get that accuracy?

A: I didn't do any research. The only research is what I had been through. That was my education. I asked a lot of questions. I was a real pain to the doctors because I never stopped asking until I completely understood it. I don't have a degree in medical science, but I feel like I do now because of what I have been through. What I've asked others in my talks - especially those who have a devastating injury - is do they remember everything and they say "yes." It's like a movie. You can see the room, the color of the tile, the smell. It's like visualization. I am actually using visualization to recover. Believe me I'm going to rollerblade some day.

Q: Your book began as a self-published, but because of its popularity, it ended up being in an auction and HarperCollins won the bid. Did you have to make a lot of changes from the self-published PS Julia: missing a piece of your mind can be puzzling to the HarperCollins book with the new title, Don't Leave Me This Way?

A: I had the ability to interview with the interested publishers and I wanted to find a publisher who would be sensitive to my story and keep it intact. HarperCollins did a fabulous job with that. I love that publisher; they have become my friends, like family. You can always edit and edit. I did have to make some changes, a few new chapters and an appendix at the back of patient tools.

Q: Many who have read your book wonder if Jim will ever write about the experience from his perspective?

A: I don't think Jim will ever write his perspective because he gets very emotional and doesn't like to relive the experience. He's extremely private too, so it would be uncomfortable to reveal his emotions o the public. Of course, he has me, the big mouth, so we counter-balance each other.

Q: Now, 11 years after your stroke, how is Rory doing?

A: Rory didn't start to show signs of distress until he was 7 and half when he had developed the verbal skills to express his feelings. He became extremely phobic of several things, which I did address in the book, such as all things medical, food, his parents dying. He actually had post-traumatic stress and I had to get him counseling for years. He's much better now and as happy as can be, a typical 13 year old.

One of my passions is reading and I'm delighted to announce we have organized an online book club, the ADVANCE Book Club for Nurses.

Here's how it will work. Every other month, we will choose a book from a long list of books suggested by you and other avid readers. Although it won't be a hard and fast rule, we will try to choose books available in paperback to reduce your cost. We'll publicize the title online and in print and you'll have 2 months to read the book, with the exception of the first book. (You only have a few weeks to read it.)

To start the online discussion, we will either interview the author or talk to the nurse who suggested the book. The interview will be in the form of a podcast. We also will pose some questions to get the discussion going.

Then you can weigh in on your views on this book through our blog as a platform for discussion. You can "talk" to other readers, pose questions to them and express your opinion about the book, or use the book's topic as a springboard for ancillary discussions.

Drum Roll

So, let's get started! Our first book is Don't Leave Me This Way: Or When I Get Back on My Feet You'll be Sorry by Julia Fox Garrison (HarperCollins, 344 pages, available in hardcover and paperback). In 1997 at age 37, this software support manager had a stroke, which obviously changed her life. Several years later, Garrison decided to write about her experiences and her recovery in a laugh-out-loud style.

Garrison discussed her book in a podcast available in our Book Club. She answered questions about why she chose humor as the tone of the book, why she depersonalized the names of her caregivers, what she learned from the experience, and even how the book got published and ended up on the bestseller list.

This skillfully crafted memoir, by a person who had never written a book, will keep you riveted. And I promise you will come away with a new understanding of being a patient and a caregiver.

Ready, Set, Go

So get the book, begin reading, make notes, and get set to belly laugh and share some insight and poignant moments with Julia Fox Garrison. (The ADVANCE Healthcare Shop is offering this book.)

Sept. 2 we'll read Reaching Past the Wire: A Nurse at Abu Ghraib by Deanna Germain, NP. The title pretty much tells it all. The book is riveting and recounts Germain's experiences at Abu Ghraib about the notorious abuse occurred but before it became public knowledge.

In commemoration of Home Health and Hospice Month in November, the book club will read A Healing Touch: True Stories of Life, Death and Hospice, a collection of profile pieces about people who have gone through hospice in central Maine written by notable Maine writers (one of the pieces is by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo, who also edited the collection). The book's royalties support the Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area, while the publisher is donating some of its profits from the book, as well. That book conversation begins Nov. 3.