Intensive Care: The Story of a Nurse [Mass Market Paperback]

Echo Heron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1988

This is a nurse's story unlike any other, because Echo Heron is a very special nurse. Dedicated to healing and helping in the harshest environments, she spent ten years in emergency rooms and intensive care units. Her story is unique, penetrating, and unforgettable. Her story is real.
"Compelling reading."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To be forced to prolong the life of a hopelessly ill, sometimes brain-dead patient is the most draining nursing situation, stresses Heron, an RN who recounts in dramatic detail her training and 10 years in the emergency and acute coronary care units of a San Francisco Bay Area hospital. The characters and lives of patientssome of them composite portraitsare fleshed out with melodramtic dialogue and novelistic touches, but the descriptions of the various cases, the constant state of crisis pervading the emergency room and the tense atmosphere of the acute care unit ring true. Most gripping is Heron's account of her own son's brush with death, and her burnout from physical and emotional exhaustionhealed by a return to her roots in Upstate New York and a laying of childhood ghosts. Literary Guild and Doubleday book clubs selections.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

This is a nurse's story unlike any other, because Echo Heron is a very special nurse. Dedicated to healing and helping in the harshest environments, she spent ten years in emergency rooms and intensive care units. Her story is unique, penetrating, and unforgettable. Her story is real.
"Compelling reading."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books (May 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804102511
• ISBN-13: 978-0804102513
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Medical
  • #50 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Women

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't have to be a nurse to enjoy this book, April 11, 2001

By 

Karla Huntsman (Sandy, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intensive Care: The Story of a Nurse (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is funny, sad, frightening, and at times unbelievable. As a nurse (and I also read it the first time while in nursing school) I know that every story in this book is absolutely true. I think anyone wanting an inside look into hospitals will find this enjoyable and informative. It proves that in medicine, truth is much stranger--and far more interesting--than fiction. Of the many authors whose books I have enjoyed, Echo Heron is the one I would most like to meet. From the intimate look she gives us into her life, it is easy to tell that this is a bright, funny, and incredibly caring woman.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intensive Care: The Story of a Nurse, July 28, 2002

By 

Deanna Stepken (Texas,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intensive Care: The Story of a Nurse (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is true life. I have been a nurse for many years and have seen so many of the same things. It touched my heart and warmed my soul. Reminded me of myself and why I became a nurse! A must read for all nurses new and seasoned!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great book!, July 12, 2001

By 

Jennifer Pennington "jenpen" (McCurtain, Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intensive Care: The Story of a Nurse (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book while in nursing school, and I just loved it. I am out of school now, and I see the things that Echo describes in her book on a daily basis. Just great! I recommend it to everyone, not just nurses!