The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives (21 page)

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Jill Kneerim, agent, friend, and human being extraordinaire. I’m so glad to have you in my life. Amy Gash, who edited this book, made it so much better, in big ways and small. Working with Amy is like having an extra version of my own brain that always has the right answer.

The nurses, doctors, and patients on the Bone Marrow Transplant floor I write about here deserve much gratitude for being amazing colleagues and people. It was a privilege to work with all of you. Special thanks to people who read drafts of the book: Elizabeth Helsinger, Annie Im, Shannon Riskey, Josh Rubin, and my husband, Arthur Kosowsky. English professor, oncologist, oncology nurse practitioner, surgeon, and spouse. All of you were wonderful and helped tremendously.

Thanks also to Judith for mentioning Blake and providing thoughtful conversation as the book progressed, and to Julia, who always had my back. My editor at
Th
e New York Times,
Clay Risen, wrote a book while I worked on this one and I really enjoyed discussing the process with him. Bob Miller, now at MacMillan, introduced me to Amy and helped get this project to Algonquin. Elisabeth Scharlatt and the marketing and publishing teams at Algonquin have been superlative throughout.

The nurses I worked with while writing this book charted its course and didn’t mind (too much) when I worked less so I could write more: B. Byers, L. Marty, B. Mason, N. Palmquist, K. Smith, C. Spangler, and T. Reiser. Also L. Hartlein, the aide, and L. Harris, our amazing secretary who did seem able to be two places at once though I’m still not sure how she did it.

Friends, neighbors, and family members asked how the book was going, too many to list here, but know that your interest was always welcome, always supportive.

The character of Ray Mason is based on the life of Doug Weaver and his wife, Kalie Pierce. They both read the manuscript in draft and shared comments with me. Their only wish for the book was that I had named them “Sid and Nancy.”

Families are often thanked last in acknowledgments and mine certainly did its part to bring this book to life. The kids are my inspiration for nursing and for success in writing. My husband never blinked when I decided to return to school to become a nurse. When I started writing about nursing he said full steam ahead. All of you are my everything. Many thanks.

THERESA BROWN, RN,
works as a clinical nurse in Pennsylvania and is a leading voice on health care as seen from the nurse’s point of view. Her
New York Times
columns appear on that paper’s opinion page. During what she calls her “past life” she taught English at Tufts University. She is a commentator in both print and broadcast national media, a regular contributor to CNN.com and the
American Journal of Nursing,
and the author of the book
Critical Care.
She is part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “The Power of Narrative” project and speaks nationally on nursing, end of life, and health care in America. (Author photo by Ken Weingart Photography.)

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