Fall is here! Whether you are relaxing on a patio enjoying the fall foliage, or in your favorite comfy sweater on the couch with a cup a coffee, autumn is the perfect time to start a new good book. With so many books to choose from and so little free time, we put together a list of our top recommendations specifically for nurses.
Lions and Tigers and Nurses
By Amy Glenn Vega
This novella tells the story of Haylie, a recent nursing school graduate, as she navigates her first full-time nursing gig at Med-Surge South. Her first few days and weeks are filled with challenges as she experiences first-hand what “nurses eating their young” means. Her assigned preceptor is a soon-to-retired nurse who makes her life a living hell. Haylie did not sign up for this and begins to second-guess her career choice. This page-turner gives a behind-the-scenes account of lateral violence and staff dynamics, and is a must-read for new and seasoned nurses alike.
Autumn at Apple Hill
By Angie Ellington
Recently divorced Elise is craving a fresh start. She packs up her life and moves back to her hometown of Landover, Main to run a bed and breakfast she inherited from her grandmother. She has fond memories of her childhood spent in Landover and is excited for her new life in a familiar place. Things are going well and she has a renewed zest for life, until one particular B&B guest arrives and shakes things up. Autumn at Apple Hill will teach you the importance of new beginnings and remind you that it’s possible to find love where you least expect it.
The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives
By Theresa Brown
Practicing nurse and New York Times columnist Theresa Brown gives us a raw look inside the true happenings during a 12-hour shift at the cancer ward of a busy teaching hospital.
“If Theresa Brown tends her patients as well as she tells her story, they are lucky patients indeed. This absorbing dispatch from the front lines of medical care captures the daily travails and triumphs of nursing with humor, compassion, and sometimes terrifying immediacy.” — Lisa Salomon, author of Hospital and The Devil's Candy
Poor Mrs. Rigsby
By Kathy Herman
Poor Mrs. Rigsby is a thriller filled with twists and turns. After her husband leaves her for a younger woman and is left broke, Sally trains to become a certified nursing assistant. Her first job as a CNA lands her at a nursing home where she meets Elsie Rigsby, a woman pretending to have dementia in order to keep a large sum of money from her son and grandson. If the money were found, it would belong to the IRS and Medicaid. Sally finds out her secret shortly before Mrs. Rigsby dies and is forced to decide between right and wrong. Lots of drama and mystery follows in this suspenseful novel.
The Orange Tree
By Martin R. Ganzglass
A young Somali nurse and elderly Jewish woman form an unlikely friendship in this poignant and moving story. Together, Helen and Amina confront their disturbed pasts and realities of life in a divided post 9-11 world. The Orange Tree will teach you the importance of tradition, family, tolerance and love, and has been described as a touching mediation on displacement and cultural difference. This book is especially perfect for long-term care nurses who work with elderly patients as they navigate together the final seasons of life.
Misery
By Stephen King
It wouldn’t be a great fall reads list without a spooky book to enjoy during the Halloween season. Famous writer Paul Sheldon is involved in a car accident and is rescued by crazed fan and former nurse Annie Wikes. Instead of taking him to a hospital, Annie puts him up in her guestroom to nurse him back to health.
Paul’s latest Victorian-era romance novel tells the story of Misery Chastain, and Annie is not a fan of how Paul told her story. She forces him to write a new book with a modified ending—no matter what it takes. This psychological horror is not for the weak of heart.
You may have seen the next two books in our summer reads collection, but they are so good they are worth checking out for fall, too!
I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse
Edited By Lee Gutkind
This collection of true narratives of real-life experiences from nurses reflects the dynamism and diversity of being a nurse and providing the first vital line of patient care. From their first "sticks," first births and first patient deaths, these are real-life nurses’ stories about what gets them through their long, demanding shifts and helps them to continuously find joy in their profession. This collection of stories are all connected by the passion and strength of the nurses who struggle to overcome burnout and bureaucracy.
Small Great Things
By Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult's latest and highly-anticipated novel, Small Great Things, tells the story of Ruth Jefferson, an African American labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital. Following her checkup on a newborn patient, Ruth was informed that she had been reassigned as the baby's parents were white supremacists and would not allow Ruth to touch their child. The hospital complied with the parents' demands. However, the following day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is the only one in the nursery. Ruth decided quickly to intervene, going against her orders in an attempt to save the newborn's life, only to find herself being charged with serious crimes for doing so.
