Books Suggested by Readers

Books Suggested by Readers

(NF-Non Fiction; F-Fiction)

ADVANCE will include on its recommended reading list for the ADVANCE Book Club for Nurses, books that nurses have read, enjoyed and felt offered them an insight into some aspect connected to their profession. We will accept recommendations only from readers, not authors or publishers. Genres can include novels, nonfiction, biographies/memoirs, or collections (photo or essay), but primarily books read for pleasure, not textbooks or workbooks.

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (NF) Authors difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan
2. How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman (NF) how doctors think and the pressure from insurance companies and drug reps and patients
3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (F) the book lets the reader understand his very literal thinking process as a young boy with autism tries to solve a mystery of the neighbor's dog being murdered
4. Reaching Past the Wire: A Nurse at Abu Ghraib by Deanna Germain (NF) Germain recounts her experiences at this Iraqi prison after the atrocities by Americans occurred by before they were known by the public (Sept. 2 go live)
5. American Nightingale by Bob Welch (NF) Tells the story of Frances Slanger, the first nurse to lose her life shortly after the Normandy invasion
6. We Band of Angels by Elizabeth M. Norman (NF) Gives a terrifying and uplifting glimpse in the lives of nurses trapped in Bataan at the start of WW II.
7. Kate: The Journal of a Confederate Nurse by Kate Cummings (NF) Offers a glimpse into Cummings experiences in aiding the sick and wounded during the Civil War
8. Warrior in White by Lucy Wilson Jopling (NF) Recounts her experience as a flight nurse who helped fly out American prisoners of war in the Pacific Theatre
9. All This Hell by Monahan and Neidel-Greenlee (NF) Account of 5 nurses on Guam taken prisoner at the beginning of WW II and their survival
10. And if I Perish by Monahan and Neidel-Greenlee (NF) A narrative of U.S. Army Nurses serving in North Africa and Europe during WW II
11. No Time for Fear by Diane Fessler (NF) A collection of interviews of the varied experiences of American military nurses in WW II
12. G.I. Nightingales by Barbara Tomblin (NF) The history of the Army Nurse Corps in WW II and nursing experiences all over the globe
13. Unsung Heroes by LaVada Bishop-Aquilina (NF) Chronicles the life of an Army nurse in the Philippines through the post-WW II era
14. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (NF) The author follows the life work of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard-trained physician whose novel approach to global health has changed the face of care for communicable diseases such as TB and AIDS in Haiti.
15. Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman (F) A suspense novel about a Jewish community and the special relationship of the author's two characters Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus
16. Parenting Across Autism by Maureen and Ann Palmer (NF) The denial and eventual acceptance that their two children are autistic
17. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (F) Addresses universal themes of good and evil, the strength of the individual who remains true to himself and the threat of fascism
18. The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (F) Takes place in Zimbabwe 2194 and is light fun reading for nurse moms and their children
19. A Long Way Gone: A Memoir of a Boy Soldier By Ishmael Beah (NF) Beah tells his story of his life as a child soldier in Sierra Leone currently living in the US
20. Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (NF) A coming of age in the Bronx, amongst drugs, crime, poverty and prison
21. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean Dominique Bauby (NF) At 43 Bauby, editor of the French magazine Elle suffered a massive CVA that lead to locked-in syndrome. He is trapped in the diving bell of his paralyzed body, but is free as the butterfly through his imagination. A powerful tribute to the human spirit
22. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult (F) About a young girl who sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is planned in order to save her older sister's life
23. Forgive and Remember: Managing Medical Failure by Charles L. Bosk (NF) The book explores what happens to medical professionals when mistakes are made (mistakes will occur as part of one's work). It also covers what can be learned from these mistakes. It's a must read for every nurse getting ready to graduate; it not only helps the nurse understand her own professional growth but the physicians around them as well
24. Beyond Caring: Hospitals, Nurses and the Social Organization of Ethics by Daniel Chambliss (NF) The author spent years observing how nurses organize their thinking in order to deal with the day to day stresses they encounter such as death. This book covers what it really is like to be a nurse and addresses the ethics that nurses encounter and how nurses view their "caring." The book looks into reasons nurses often have a hard time seeing things from the patient's perspectives and sometimes why they end up leaving nursing
25. Nursing Against the Odds: How Health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes and Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses and Patient Care by Suzanne Gordon (NF) Gordon gives an historical perspective of the profession and current issues such as Magnet hospitals,unions, the ANA, nurse practitioners and more
26. My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen (NF) A collections of Dr. Remen's heart-warming and humanistic stories that teach us of life, death, healing, mystery, spirituality, love, compassion and that make one want to be a better person, not to mention a better nurse...or physician
27. Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen (NF) A collections of Dr. Remen's heart-warming and humanistic stories that teach us of life, death, healing, mystery, spirituality, love, compassion and that make one want o be a better person, not to mention a better nurse...or physician
28. 72 Hour Hold by Beebe Moore Campbell (F) With this gripping novel, the late author takes the reader through a mother's journey and search for treatment (unorthodox?) of her daughter's bipolar disorder
29. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey- (F to some; NF to others) Frey wrote this book that most nurses in the mental health field, especially the institutional setting or rehab arena, will identify with and recognize the character studies about a man's battle with addiction
30. Can You Keep A Secret? Sophie Kinsella (F) This novel, that will make you laugh out loud as you read it, is pure fluff, a delightful escape from the stresses of our work worlds.
31. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (NF) Recounts the inner strength and resourcefulness of a child growing up in a dysfunctional but loving family. What a success she became despite all odds
32. Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of our Elders by Mary Bray Pipher (NF) Evaluates emotional/psychological needs of not only different chronological age groups, but also by health status in the context of Midwestern American values. Has much to say about the problems the elderly face when they pass from being "young-old" (health, active, mobile) to "old-old" (ill, feeble)
33. Consumption by Kevin Patterson (NF) About changing demographics of the life of the Inuit and the diseases and problems they face as they leave the life of the land
34. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (F) A great book about the effects of forcing our way of life upon others, without compassion
35. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (F) About prejudice and kindness
36. The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard (F) A touching story of a single mom with a chronic illness
37. Don't Leave Me This Way by Julia Fox Garrison (NF) The experiences of a woman who suffered a stroke at age 37 (July 7 go live)
38. Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional by Donna Cardillo (NF) Title speaks for itself
39. Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther (NF) A father's memoir of his son's death from a brain tumor
40. Ryan White: My Own Story by Ryan White and Ann Marie Cunningham (NF) The story of the young boy who died of AIDS and for whom the legislation the Ryan White Act is named
41. Girl Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
42. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom (NF) While in college Mitch Albom used to meet with his college professor Morrie Schwartz every Tuesday. Now, 20 years later, Albom learns Schwartz is dying and resurrects their Tuesday visits
43. Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul: 101 Stories to Celebrate, Honor and Inspire the Nursing Profession (NF) by LeAnn Thiemann, editor.
44. No Time for Romance by Lucilla Andrews (NF) About a British nurse's training and experiences during World War II ? the character is the basis for the book and film Atonement by Ian McEwan
45. Home Before Morning by Lynda Van Devanter (NF) A nurse who served in Vietnam and suffered PTSD recounts her experiences
46. Women at War by Elizabeth Norman (NF) About nurses who served in Vietnam
47. Heartsounds by Martha Weinman Lear (NF) The author's husband, a physician, is diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She recounts the progression of his disease and their experiences in making their way through the healthcare system.
48. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (NF) Didion describes how she reacted after the sudden death of her husband
49. Both Sides Now: One Man's Journey Through Womanhood by Dillon Khosla (NF) a personal account of transsexual surgery from female to male, relating his/her story in detail. Of particular interest are the operations performed as well as the psychological issues.
50. Cancer Vixen by Acocella Marchetti (NF) a memoir of her breast cancer experience in cartoon form.
51. The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals by Richard Plant (NF) Throws light in an incident of modern history that has remained in the shadows: the persecution of homosexuals in World War II.
52. TheGreat Influenza Epidemic: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry (NF) Details the history of the 1918 flu pandemic with all the medical, scientific, social and political influences.
53. From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Nursing Clinical Practice by Patricia Benner (NF) The seminal work on becoming a more experienced nurse.
54. Expertise in Nursing Practice: Caring, Clinical Judgment and Ethics by Patricia Benner (NF)
55. Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale and how a 19th Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry by Scott Huler (NF) While this may seem to have nothing to do with nursing, it has everything to do with discovery, observation, listening and grace.
56. Feel the Pull: Creating a Culture of Nursing Excellence by Gen Guanci (NF) About what is needed for an organizational culture perspective to create professional practice environments.
57. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder (NF) After spending a year observing the residents of a Northampton, MA nursing home, Kidder offers respectful, moving portraits of elderly people confronting their decaying minds and bodies and their imminent deaths.
58. The Man with the Iron Tattoo and Other True Tales of Uncommon Wisdom: What Our Patients Have Taught Us about Love, Faith and Healing by John E. Castaldo and Lawrence P. Levitt (NF)
59. T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (NF) A departure from the usual mysteries Grafton writes which are following the letters of the alphabet. This is a story about an elderly neighbor of Grafton's and what happens to him after an illness.
60. Ruff's War: A Navy Nurse on the Frontline in Iraq by Cheryl Lynn Ruff and K. Sue Roper (NF) A true story of a nurse on the front lines in Iraq.
61. No Place Like Home: A History of Nursing and Home Care in the U.S. by Karen Buhler-Wilkerson (NF) Traces the earliest history of nursing in the U.S. back to the early 1800s, through 2000.
62. Two Weeks of Life by Eleanor Clift (NF) A juxtaposition of a memoir about her husband receivin hospice care and the Terri Schiavo case (they died within days of each other), just looking at dying and the possible politicizing of it.
63. Healing Touch: True Stories of Life, Death and Hospice, (NF) 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.
64. Lavender Book: Spiritual Tools for the Dying (NF) The Lavender Book was developed to provide you with the spiritual tools that can be used before, during and after the death of your loved one. The dying process can be a long and difficult journey. Our hope is that the spiritual tools in this book will help make this event a time of loving, sharing and healing, giving meaning to this sacred process. Available from Asante Hospice Services.
65. Nurse: A World of Care (NF) by Peter Jaret, photographs by Karen Kasmauski, foreword by Jimmy Carter, published by Emory University. In a moving tapestry of words and photographs, the book documents and celebrates the vital and often invisible work of nurses throughout the globe.
66. The Knitting Circle (F) by Ann Hood. Based on the author's experience with grief and recovery.
67. The Unraveling Thread (F) by Priscilla Cogan. In this story, Cogan incorporates a relatively unknown but devastating medical disorder, Velo-Cardio-Facial-Syndrome (VCFS). VCFS is a genetic syndrome with a wide range of medical, behavioral, educational and psychiatric symptoms. Cogan has a psychotic niece with VCFS, and the book provides a vehicle to raise awareness - and generate support for research.
68. Same Kind of Different as Me (NF) by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. An unlikely friendship develops between an international art dealer and a homeless man, as a result of a vision by the art dealer's wife. She dreamed about someone who would make a difference in the lives of the homeless of Fort Worth, TX. The relationship deepens between these two men as a result of the wife developing cancer.
69. Nursing Illuminations: A Book of Days (NF) by Pat van Betten and Melisa Moriarty. This book offers 365+1 daily readings depicting many historical nursing heroes that exemplify nurses' great aptitude and ability to steadfastly address the problems of the healthcare system.
70. Shattered: Reclaiming A Life Torn Apart By Violence (NF) by Debra Puglisi Sharp. This true crime book is different from most of its genre because it was written by the victim/survivor herself, Puglisi Sharp, who is a hospice nurse. Sharp was raped, kidnapped and held captive for sexual purposes for 5 days in the mid-1990s. The story is horrific but inspiring and revealing.
71. Home Before Morning: The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam by Lynda Van Devanter (NF). Autobiography of a nurse during the bloodiest aspects of the Vietnam War and of her return home to adjust to family, nursing at Walter Reed and how to live in a non-war zone.
72. It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong (NF) Recounting 7-time Tour de France winner's earlier battle with testicular cancer. 
73. An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay RedfieldJamison (NF). There are many stigmas about mental illnesses; this book points out people with mental illness can function and contribute to society when they take care of their mental and physical health.
74. The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life. His Own by David Carr (NF). Carr reports on his own addiction to crack as if he were reporting about another person mainly because he does not remember details due to his addiction.
75. Bed Number Ten by Sue Baier & Mary ZimmethSchomaker (NF) Told through the eyes of a patient totally paralyzed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, this book takes you through the psychological and physical pain of an 11 month hospital stay.
76. Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg  (F) A sweet and funny look at life and death through the eyes of one wonderfully human family. I laughed out loud and cried in the next page. It is ultimately a feel good story and one will be able to identify ones one family in the characters.
77. Leave no Nurse Behind: Nurses Working with DisAbilities by Donna Maheady, RN, PhD (NF) Provides a format for 11 nurses with disabilities to tell the story of how they fought to return to work and to stay at work.
78. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (NF) In September 2007, Randy Pausch, a computer scientist and professor at Carnegie Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, stood in front of 400 people and delivered a lecture on achieving your childhood dreams, knowing he had pancreatic cancer. A year later Pausch was dead. His lecture, formed into a book, has formed an astounding following.
79. Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali by Kris Holloway (NF) Holloway, a Peace Corps volunteer in the 19080s, recounts her professional and personal friendship with Monique Dembele, a Malian midwife in a small country village during Holloway's stint in Mali. Womens' rights, child mortality and village customs are all addressed.
80. My Lobotomy: A Memoir by Howard Dully (NF). Recounts Dully being lobotomized, a controversial treatment, by the psychiatrist who popularized lobotomies, Walter Freeman.
81. The End of Fear: A Spiritual Path for Realists Richard Schaub, PhD, with Bonney Gulino Schaub, RN (NF). Addresses why we are afraid and anxious at times and how to cope with it.
82. Saving Lives: Why the Media's Portrayal of Nurses Puts us all at Risk by Sandy Summers, MSN, MPH, RN, & Harry Jacobs Summers (NF). A comprehensive examination of all types of media by this duo reveal nursing stereotypes. The Summers' suggest solutions to dispelling the stereotypic myths.
83. Take Charge: A Woman's Guide to a Healthier Heart by Margaret Latrella & Carolyn Strimike (NF). Written by two cardiac nurse practitioners, this book offers multiple charts and worksheets to help women get started on their way to a healthier lifestyle and thus a healthier heart.
84. On Duty: Power, Politics and the History of Nursing in New Jersey by Frances Ward, RN (NF). The story of women struggling for professional autonomy amidst other national movements -- particularly the women's rights movement.
85. Being Present: A Nurse's Resource for End-of-Life Communication by Marjorie Schaffer and Linda Norlander (NF). These nurse authors outline detailed strategies that will help nurses guide families and patients through their end-of-life journey.
86. Living at the End of Life: A Hospice Nurse Addresses the Most Common Questions by Karen Whitley Bell, RN, CHPN (NF). A comprehensive and thoughtful guide for those facing death and for the people around them, covering what they can expect to experience emotionally and physically, and much more.
87. Fit Nurse by Gary Scholar (NF). Published by Sigma Theta Tau International, The Honor Society of Nursing, Fit Nurse gives nurses valuable tips for staying healthy. Because nurses have very specific hurdles to address when trying to get fit (erratic hours, drinking soda to stay awake on night shift, eating fattening cafeteria food), they require a different kind of guidance then your typical professional.
88. As Nature Made Him: The Boy who was Raised as a Girl by John Colapinto (NF). Fascinating true story of medicine gone awry. The account of David Reimer, who underwent a sex change in infancy - a medical experiment heralded as a success, but which was in reality a failure.
89. Inspired Nurse by Rich Bluni, RN (NF) Through stories and spiritual meditations in his thought-provoking workbook, Bluni reminds nurses and other healthcare professionals, why they chose their profession.
90. Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses Working with DisAbilities by Donna Carol Maheady, EdD, ARNP (NF) A passionate case for equal opportunity for nurses with disabilities, especially nursing students applying to nursing school.
91. Beyond All Price by Carolyn Scriber (F). Although this is a novel, it's based on the true story of Nellie Chase, a Union nurse during the American Civil War.