Healing Stories

Roller coaster week for family nurse.  Sister with total knee replacement surgery has an up and down recovery.    Local nurses gearing up for strike suddenly settle their contract.  I had expected to be transitioning in replacement nurses at my hospital right now.  Instead--thankfully--I'm blogging.

To pass the hours spent in the hospital waiting and watching, of course I brought a book, a treasure found at a yard sale for a quarter:  Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Remen M.D.  It was the subtitle that caught my eye, Stories That Heal.  I seldom read a book twice (so many books, so little time) and I've started through this one again.  I just liked the way I felt when I read it.  It was also thought provoking for this wisdom seeker.
Here's a sample (p 39) One of the blessings of growing older is the discovery that many of the things I once believed to be my shortcomings have turned out to be my strengths, and other things of which I was unduly proud have revealed themselves in the end to be my shortcomings.  I've long known that my strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin, and this idea puts a new spin on the coin toss. 
The author works extensively with cancer survivors, but her book has a lot to say to all of us.