An entry for the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge

A few months ago, a blogging friend, VJ Knutson from Canada, asked for a copy of my nursing memoir. I was elated. Caring Lessons was published over 10 years ago, and it’s rare I get asked for a copy anymore.

I so appreciated VJ’s support and that she, in addition, agreed to write a review. Plus she paid the astronomical fee of $20 for me to mail a copy to Canada. VJ blogs at One Woman’s Quest.

We writers love support like this. Someday I plan to present to you my next book on our experience with my husband’s terminal cancer. I’m working with an editor now. It’s a long process. Stay tuned!

Please read VJ’s thoughtful review below. I still have a few copies of Caring Lessons if you’re interested.

CARING LESSONS: A REVIEW

VJ KnutsonBook review, memoirBook review, Literature, memoir, reading13 Comments

I ordered Lois Hoitenga Roelofs’ book, Caring Lessons:  A Nursing Professor’s Journey of Faith and Self, after having been a fan of her blog for several years. Lois writes with candour about her life challenges, and on the blog in particular, about her journey through her husband’s terminal cancer. It is the candour with which she writes that keeps me hooked. I wanted to know more about this brave and inspiring woman.

Caring Lessons covers Roelofs’ life and career, first as a reluctant nurse and teacher, and then, as the title suggests, as a practitioner and professor of nursing. I laughed at her failed attempts to convince her father nursing wasn’t for her, and cheered at the moment she found purpose in her calling. I nodded along as she wrote about her struggles as a stay-at-home mom, fighting the impulse to flee and could relate to every gut wrenching decision to go back to school or make a career change. Throughout her story, what emerges is the a passionate spirit. 

Reading Roelofs’ memoir is like sitting down with a good friend and talking over old times. There is laughter and tears and under it all a sense of have been heard and understood. Even though I have no medical background, I found Caring Lessons to be an accessible and relevant read. From one woman to another. 

I never feel quite qualified to assign ratings to books, but I will tell you that I’ve lined up a a list of readers to pass this book onto.

Caring Lessons is available through Amazon. I obtained my copy from the author.

Lois blog is Write Along With Me.