Tag Archives: Nursing

It’s Not You, Geography, It’s Me by Kristy Chambers

March 12, 2022Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Humour, Kristy Chambers, Medical, Memoirs, Nursingskyebjenner

Title: It’s Not You, Geography, It’s Me
Author: Kristy Chambers
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Humour, Medical, Memoirs, Nursing
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Year: 2014

We may have made leaps and bounds in our understanding, but mental health is still a pretty hard topic to broach. There is so much stigma remaining and it can be hard to convey what its like to live with a mental health issue to someone who has never had one. Which is why whenever I see a book that talks about it openly and honestly, I’m pretty quick to jump on it. The fact that I’ve JUST read another book by Kristy Chambers that I thoroughly enjoyed made me dive into this with much more excitement and impatience than I normally would.

Combining travel narratives with mental health just helped to draw me in further and further. I’ll be the first to admit that I am a pretty major home body. So I do love to live vicariously through other people’s travel adventures. I loved doing this with Chambers. She is so damn honest and sassy that you got the ugly alongside the good. Which is what travel is all about.

Throughout every chapter and adventure, Chambers draws back to her mental health and numerous breakdowns. Yet, where this could feel quite serious and negative, she talks about it in such an open and honest manner that you end up laughing. It takes a special someone to talk about their mental health. It takes someone even more special to joke about it with such abandon. Definitely my kind of woman.

I loved, loved, loved this book. It was that perfect blend of travel adventure and realistic recountings of the trials that this entails. Mental health and depression are unabashedly talked about and often joked about. And there’s even a beautiful happy ending that makes you want to read MORE about Chambers’ life, but content if you can’t do so.

<- Get Well Soon!

An Appetite for Wonder ->

Image source: Booktopia

Get Well Soon! by Kristy Chambers

March 10, 2022Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Humour, Kristy Chambers, Medical, Memoirs, Nursingskyebjenner

Title: Get Well Soon! My (un)Brilliant Career as a Nurse
Author: Kristy Chambers
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Humour, Medical, Memoirs, Nursing
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Year: 2012

Nursing is a career path and life choice that holds a lot of fascination for me. It’s such a powerful thing to do, but I honestly can’t imagine dealing with people’s shit (both literally and figuratively) like that. I also have a couple of girlfriends who are nurses I’m different fields, so understanding their day to say lives is also enthralling.

Chambers manages to write about a pretty hectic and serious career with an amazing amount of sass and humour. I particularly like when she points out that ultimately her decision between teaching and nursing came down to who do I hate less, teenagers or sick people… and teenagers are assholes. It’s a sentiment that had me laughing out loud.

Alongside all of the wit and humour throughout this, there are some pretty powerful emotional moments. It’s a start reminder of the intensity of this kind of career. But, also a brilliant way to highlight how some people are able to deal with the horrors of a fairly intense career path.

This is one if those memoirs that I will read again and again. It has my preferred level of dry, witty humour; plenty of sass; and a subject matter that ceaselessly fascinates me. I may have read this through my kobo plus account, but its going on my wish list for a physical copy too…

<- Rolling with the Punchlines

It’s Not You, Geography, It’s Me ->

Image source: BookDepository

Confessions of a School Nurse by Michael Alexander

March 8, 2022Book ReviewMedical, Memoirs, Michael Alexander, Nursingskyebjenner

Title: Confessions of a School Nurse
Author: Michael Alexander
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Medical, Memoirs, Nursing
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2015

After reading through Confessions of a Male Nurse, I knew that I needed to get Confessions of a School Nurse. I did start reading a book on Thredbo (Survival) before I actually put this onto my Kobo. But then I couldn’t stop myself from also picking up this book. And, because it is such a great and easy read, I managed to read this before I’d even finished the first chapter of the other books that I had started… I mean, there is something kind of humorous about the fixes that people find themselves in in the medical world. And there is just a sweetness about Alexander that I can’t get enough of.

Having never been to boarding school, or come from the kind of money that Alexander talks about in this novel, I was transported into a whole new world. One that I’ve only imagined from some of the more ridiculous movies that I’ve watched. This might have taken me a little step closer to such an unfathomable world. But, honestly, that’s as close as I ever want to get. It was most definitely an interesting world to step into for a few hours, but one that I found a little terrifying. Although, I suppose that those who Alexander sees and writes about are the extremes – there’s no point in writing about the boring, everyday occurrences now, is there?

Not only did this memoir give me an insight into what it is like being a school nurse and treating children in a boarding school, it also gave me insight into the school system and realities for some people in Europe. Actually, a lot of the different students and people that are discussed in this novel are from the Northern Hemisphere. A totally different life to immerse myself in, one that I enjoyed doing so. I mean, a lot of my memoirs lately are based around some pretty horrific moments in modern history, so it was nice to read about something that was a little lighter and fluffier.

As with Confessions of a Male Nurse, I absolutely adored this novel. It was fun and engaging. A little lighter than the other memoirs I have on the go at the moment and just, generally fun. Definitely the kind of memoir that I will be buying a physical copy of. And one that I look forward to sharing and recommending to others.

<- Confessions of a Male Nurse

Radio Okapi Kindu ->

Image source: HarperCollins Australia

Confessions of a Male Nurse by Michael Alexander

March 7, 2022Book ReviewMedical, Memoirs, Michael Alexander, Nursingskyebjenner

Title: Confessions of a Male Nurse
Author: Michael Alexander
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Medical, Memoirs, Nursing
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2012

I’ve definitely been on a bit of a medical memoir kick lately. Maybe because I recently had major surgery and have a whole new appreciation for what it’s like to be a patient. And a whole lot of love for the staff that made a potentially traumatic moment into something that was good and I can think of fondly. Regardless of why, as soon as I saw this title in my Kobo Plus section, I knew it was a book I wanted to read.

Any nurse memoirs is going to be interesting – they do tend to have a whole lot more patient interaction than doctors when it comes to hospitals. But I was intrigued to read about interactions that involved a male nurse. After all, a different gender is going to have different experiences. Add in the fact that the man’s a Kiwi and I was sold.

I love how Alexander separated each of the sections if this memoir into the different areas if nursing he’s worked in. It gives a common theme to each section that creates a more cohesive narrative from some very disjointed stories. It was also interesting that alcohol related issues are so predominant within his work life that he created a whole section just on alcohol abuse. It’s a good reminder to imbibe responsibly.

After reading Get Well Soon and thoroughly enjoying it, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy another nursing memoir so thoroughly. It was a pretty tough act to follow. But, luckily for me, I most definitely did. This wasn’t quite as sassy, but wonderfully open and honest. With just the right amount of dry, what the hell humour thrown in.

<- The Zookeeper’s Wife

Confessions of a School Nurse ->