Taking Care: The Story of Nursing and Its Power To Change Our World

While freelance journalist DiGregorio (Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human) specializes in healthcare reporting, she writes that her personal experiences with amazing nurses compelled her to create this work. She and her daughter were both premature babies, and her parents required critical care before succumbing to their illnesses. More than other health professionals, compassionate and knowledgeable nurses helped guide DiGregorio and her family through these traumatic experiences. Combining history, current events, and interviews conducted with a group of nurses, DiGregorio argues that the profession arose from the innate human impulse to care for the vulnerable and that this concern for humanity could tackle today’s most significant problems, if only nurses had the agency to do so. Powerful examples include nurses who are reaching out to the Orthodox Jewish community to address vaccine-hesitant members and nurses advocating for heat-protection standards for agricultural workers.