Overview

"“DiGregorio’s storytelling is pitch-perfect; narrative and nursing, she understands, come from the same place and both are concerned with a deep understanding of character and plot....This is a brilliant book, and DiGregorio is a beautiful writer. Taking Care deserves to be on the reading list for nursing and medical schools, and on the bedside table of all politicians.""—New York Times Book Review In this sweeping cultural history of nursing from the Stone Age to the present, the critically acclaimed author of Early pays homage to the profession and makes an urgent call for change. Nurses have always been vital to human existence. A nurse was likely there when you were born and a nurse might well be there when you die. Familiar in hospitals and doctors’ offices, these dedicated health professionals can also be found in schools, prisons, and people’s homes; at summer camps; on cruise ships, and even at NASA. Yet despite being celebrated during the Covid-19 epidemic, nurses are often undermined and undervalued in ways that reflect misogyny and racism, and that extend to their working conditions—and affect the care available to everyone. But the potential power of nursing to create a healthier, more just world endures. The story of nursing is complicated. It is woven into war, plague, religion, the economy, and our individual lives in myriad ways. In Taking Care, journalist Sarah DiGregorio chronicles the lives of nurses past and tells the stories of those today—caregivers at the vital intersection of health care and community who are actively changing the world, often invisibly. An absorbing and empathetic work that combines storytelling with nuanced reporting, Taking Care examines how we have always tried to care for each other—the incredible ways we have succeeded and the ways in which we have failed. Fascinating, empowering and significant, it is a call for change and a love letter to the nurses of yesterday, today, and tomorrow."

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9780063071285

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Reviews

Early opens like a medical thriller . . . the heart of DiGregorio's illuminating book isn't just about her family's journey; it's an expansive examination of the history and ethics of neonatology . . . DiGregorio, a food editor and writer, is such a beautiful storyteller, I found myself underlining passages, turning corners of pages and keeping track of the page numbers at the back of the book until I had a hodgepodge of numbers scribbled on top of each other. -- New York Times Book Review on EARLY Her empathetic exploration of neonatology combines memoir with serious reporting. -- USA Today on EARLY An engaging balance of research and personal anecdotes culled from the writer's own experience giving birth, Early is a celebration of life. -- Literary Hub on EARLY A well-written, carefully researched book that should be of vital interest to potential parents and their friends and families. -- Library Journal on EARLY DiGregorio makes clear that the problems facing preterm babies can be enormous, that consequences may not be apparent for years, and that the appropriateness of treatment can be debated. . . . Clear reporting that wisely urges careful decision-making by clinicians and parents alike. -- Kirkus Reviews on EARLY Compassionate. . . . Sensitively approaching the myriad practical and ethical challenges involved in caring for such fragile babies, DiGregorio gives vivid, individualized portraits of struggling parents, premature infants who developed into thriving children, and the specialists dedicated to helping them. . . . DiGregorio delivers a candid yet gentle work with appeal for prospective parents and anyone interested in 'what premature birth [can] teach us about being human.' -- Publishers Weekly on EARLY

Early opens like a medical thriller . . . the heart of DiGregorio's illuminating book isn't just about her family's journey; it's an expansive examination of the history and ethics of neonatology . . . DiGregorio, a food editor and writer, is such a beautiful storyteller, I found myself underlining passages, turning corners of pages and keeping track of the page numbers at the back of the book until I had a hodgepodge of numbers scribbled on top of each other. -- New York Times Book Review on EARLY Her empathetic exploration of neonatology combines memoir with serious reporting. -- USA Today on EARLY An engaging balance of research and personal anecdotes culled from the writer's own experience giving birth, Early is a celebration of life. -- Literary Hub on EARLY A well-written, carefully researched book that should be of vital interest to potential parents and their friends and families. -- Library Journal on EARLY DiGregorio makes clear that the problems facing preterm babies can be enormous, that consequences may not be apparent for years, and that the appropriateness of treatment can be debated. . . . Clear reporting that wisely urges careful decision-making by clinicians and parents alike. -- Kirkus Reviews on EARLY Compassionate. . . . Sensitively approaching the myriad practical and ethical challenges involved in caring for such fragile babies, DiGregorio gives vivid, individualized portraits of struggling parents, premature infants who developed into thriving children, and the specialists dedicated to helping them. . . . DiGregorio delivers a candid yet gentle work with appeal for prospective parents and anyone interested in 'what premature birth [can] teach us about being human.' -- Publishers Weekly on EARLY In precise and approachable prose, Sarah DiGregorio uses a journalist's tools to investigate the most ethical of professions: nursing. Each chapter of Taking Care shows us that ethic up close. But health care isn't perfect; nursing included. Taking Care explores how - if untethered from the profit motive of the medical industrial complex and the classism, sexism, and racism within and foisted upon the profession - nursing has the power to make the world a better place. -- Mark Lazenby, Dean and Professor, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine

Author Information

Sarah DiGregorio is a freelance journalist who has written for various publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Village Voice, Food & Wine, BuzzFeed, Parade, and Saveur. Her work has been included in the Best American Food Writing yearly anthologies three times. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her daughter and her husband.

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