Gifts from the Edge of Life: Reflections of a Grateful Nurse

In Gifts from the Edge of Life/Reflections of a Grateful Nurse, Wendy Gilbert Gronbeck not only provides insightful answers to the question 'How can you stand to be a nurse?' but does so with empathy, charm, and a bit of humor, giving the reader an intimate look at what people at their most vulnerable-during times of life-threatening or life-ending illness-can teach the rest of us about acceptance, perseverance, grace, and humanity. Gronbeck's stories-of the feisty Hazel, the bad-mouthing Marne, the musicians Daniel and David, the ever-grateful Margaret (among others)-remind us that caregiving can also be a kind of receiving, if one can see beyond the pain and grief, as Gronbeck does. There is heartbreak, of course, at the edge of life-for the dying, their close family and intimates, and often for their medical attendants as well-but there is also dignity and beauty and love and song and, yes, laughter. Gifts from the Edge of Life is Wendy Gronbeck's affirmation that there is 'more to life than living.' They are gifts worth sharing.