The Healing Power of Fajitas: A Novel

An inside view, through the eyes of Annie Brown, RN, this look at the world of nursing tells what it is like to be a nurse, dealing with a scale of egos, ranging from physicians who wield the power of money, to maintenance men who hold the keys to the hospital thermostat. Every day, the swish of the automatic doors brings patients; each one unique, but all need a nurse. And with monotonous regularity, a barrage of hospital memos give instructions to the staff, from the ridiculous: DO NOT CONGREGATE IN THE HALLWAY BESIDE THE TIME CLOCK WHEN CLOCKING IN, to the utterly absurd: REFER TO THE POLICY AND PROCEDURE BOOK FOR CORRECT HOSPITAL POLICY- IT IS CURRENTLY BEING REVISED AND MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE. Annie's co-workers face the same rules, but Christine is an anal-retentive who seems to thrive on them, while Teresa simply smiles and charms patients and doctors alike, surprisingly unaffected by the insanity. Like the proverbial cherry on the sundae, the hospital supervisor is rigid to the point of rigor mortis, insisting every policy is to be followed without question. When Annie stumbles on a body in the hospital parking lot early one morning and fails to follow the rules, she places the hospital and ultimately herself in medical/legal jeopardy. The heavy-handed disciplinary process brings Annie to a place of despair and defeat. But her dog, Bear and some unlikely patients become Annie's caregivers, reminding her of the power of caring and compassion to heal the wounded spirit in us all.