18. The Year of the Nurse (A Memoir)

By Cassie Alexander (416 pp ebook)

I almost forgot this one -- I finished it on the plane while traveling. This a memoir by a nurse during the Covid pandemic. I think it starts in February 2020 and things were already terrible by the end of March which is harrowing to read now when you know how long this thing has dragged out. What I loved was all the deep knowledge about what sort of complications the medical industry and nurses were dealing with. To someone who knows nothing, it seems like they just need to add more beds but then you see how complicated it is to find experienced RNs. She also writes about her struggle with self-care and mental health issues.