From Mitzi L Duxbury, PhD, Professor (retired) University of Wisconsin
Dean Emerita, College of Nursing, University of Illinois, April 23, 2015

“(Caring Lessons)was wonderful. I just finished it, could not put it down. Along with the other accolades you have received, I was impressed by your self revelations and absolute honesty and integrity. The drive/intensity/curiosity for learning more and more is inspirational to all. Keep up the good work. Peace.”

From Rosemary Homer RN, MBA, President, Halligan-Lynch Healthcare Consulting, February 24, 2012

“A good read that rekindled all sorts of memories of my own nursing career journey.”

From Beth Triezenberg, MSN, RN, CNL, January 2012

Many thanks to Elizabeth Triezenberg, MSN, RN, CNL at Trinity Health for the following endorsement of Caring Lessons that arrived today. And thanks to the entire group of nurses at Trinity Health who have purchased and read Caring Lessons. I appreciate the support of each one of you and wish you every success on your own “professional development” path!

“As she tells her nursing story, Lois Roelofs unfolds the art of nursing. From earning her diploma in nursing through her doctorate in nursing science, she takes readers on a tasks-to-theory journey, explaining in a lighthearted fashion why nursing theory really matters, something some of us need to hear a few times! And she lets us know that, no matter what level of education the nurse has, our ultimate learning is with our patients.

Caring Lessons captured a summary of my thoughts and feelings as a nurse and Clinical Nursing Leader. It was easy and fun to read, and it challenged my perspective on how nursing is perceived and how to communicate to the rest of the world the importance of our profession.”

Elizabeth Triezenberg MSN, RN, CNL Trinity Health

From the front pages of Caring Lessons:

In her book, Mrs. Roelofs, the Ph.D., the RN, the wife, and the mother wears
her titles gracefully as she weaves a web of suspense, adventure, compassion, and love. With an honest, open, and conversational brush she paints a vivid picture of life with all its trials and tribulations. We need more psychiatric nurses and teachers like her to help lift the stigma from mental illness. This book is a great comfort to women trying to balance career, motherhood, and commitment to the greater good of mankind.

—Sel Erder Yackley, author of Never Regret the Pain: Loving and Losing a Bipolar Spouse

In Caring Lessons, Dr. Roelofs tells of her life’s journey through an intricate maze of professional experiences, each one building on the last, to eventually find herself as a doctorally prepared nurse in academia. As one who can identify with several of the author’s roles—psychiatric nurse, professor, and administrator—I found the manuscript to be engaging and candid. It is a delightful must-read for nurses that will leave you amused, tearful, proud, and, in the end, richer for having been invited into Roelofs’ professional life.

—Mary Molewyk Doornbos, Ph.D., RN, Professor and Chairperson,Department of Nursing, Calvin College, and co-author of Transforming Care: A Christian Vision of Nursing Practice

I hooted, cried, and reminisced all the way through Caring Lessons. Lois and I met at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and, although traveling different career paths, we each encountered many of the same expectations and restrictions concerning the “womanly” use of our gifts.This book is a testament to her ability to draw even those of us who never donned a nurse’s cap, or gave a patient a bed bath, or lectured on schizophrenia, into her lifetime of experiences as a nurse and an educator as if they were our own. Beautiful writing; heartwarming story!

—Carol Rottman, Ph.D., Author of Writers in the Spirit and All Nature Sings: A Spiritual Journey of Place

In today’s environment of spiraling healthcare costs, nursing shortages and health care reform, Caring Lessons is a powerful yet delightful commentary on the fears, joys, and culminating pride to be found in a nursing career.The author reminds us not only of what it is like to evolve from a naïve nursing student to a successful professional, but also the challenges of juggling family joys and tragedies while pursuing a career. Thoughtful, sensitive, and revealing, this is one of the most heartwarming books I have read in a long time.

—Patsy L. Ruchala, DNSc, RN, Professor and Director, Orvis School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Reno

I loved this book. Lois has a wonderful ability to capture the experiences she had and tie them to thought-provoking themes. I’m full of admiration for the tone. It’s an authentic, often humorous, unfolding of a life that not only has been well-lived, but well-studied. Without making a big point of her faith, her story is one of spiritual growth as she explores who she needed to become. She has given us a good example of following the artist’s way to the deepest expression of self.

—Ann Brody, M.S.W., Career/Life Coach, Career Solutions, Inc., Chicago