Reviews

A tantalizing and insightful glimpse into the worlds of nursing and alternative healing. Kendall has a natural storyteller's flair: her tales from the nursing front are at times somber, at others, hilarious. The author seems to examine her own inner workings as much as that of the profession that has consumed her life. An honest and open examination of a profession none of us care to know very personally but one that we will all need. Whether you've watched a loved one spend final days in the care of a medical professional or laid healing hands yourself, you will dig the voyeuristic view of the inside offered by Kendall's debut book. I was a fan by page two and will no doubt read the book again.

- Mark LaFlamme. Author, crime reporter, and columnist.

You have a beautiful way of describing one of the greatest professions in the world…makes me wish I could start a nursing career… you write so splendidly, unselfconsciously (difficult I know for an autobiography), with such humility, vividness and grace that it keeps me turning thru the stories faster and faster...they should make a movie...a sitcom...get copies out to wellness groups if you can, everyone in the medical world should read it. – Arthur L. Herman II, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, UWSP

I just finished your book, couldn't put it down all day. I took a nap halfway through…dreamed I was doing Reiki. I hope I can learn reiki. - Brenda Hill RN

When people choose to write honestly about their challenges and passions, there is always something to be learned in the reading. Since REIKI NURSE: My Life As a Nurse, and How Reiki Changed It is set largely in the rural county where I live, I was eager to read it.

Author Meredith Kendall begins her story with her casual decision to become a nurse. She had left Maine to be a beach bum in Hawaii, then came back to live in a cabin in 20 acres of Maine woods. She went to college to be a teacher but felt drawn to science...why not be a nurse? It's as good a way as any to be called to one's life's work.

Kendall's style is conversational and refreshingly random as she tells stories of her early nursing days. She provided home care to patients for fourteen years, driving 500 miles a week through the Maine forests. Her stories of the patients she cared for and the impact they had on her are fascinating snapshots of a nurse's life.

Leaving the home health field, she worked the night shift in a small hospital. During this time she began exploring the spiritual side of her work as a healer, and getting in touch with her personal energy sources. After reading a book on reiki, which she explains as an ancient tradition that channels healing energy from the universe, she began to study reiki.

Reiki is in use in many hospitals in the U.S. as an adjunct therapy; practitioners help patients to overcome the stress and pain of hospital treatment. Kendall instituted a reiki program at her hospital and then went on to lead a program at a larger hospital where she took a job in nursing education.

Many of the ideas presented in "Reiki Nurse" are not usually "dreamt of in our philosophy," but this immensely readable book will make you glad that modern medicine makes room for the spiritual aspect of healing--and that committed nurses like Kendall are there to lead the way.

Linda Bulger, 2009, Vine Voice Top Reviewer