Chilling, revelatory, and compassionate, Echo Heron's bestselling memoir offers a brutally honest account of her time as an idealistic nursing student, her entry into the workforce, and her rude awakening to the gritty realities of practice. Devoted to helping the most trying patients in some of the harshest medical environments—from emergency rooms to intensive care units—Heron boldly confronts the most serious medical dilemmas of our time. When does a patient have the right to end his or her life, how can a medical professional help someone evaluate such a decision, and what can a nurse do when doctors don't have their patients' best interests at heart? These are just a few of the critical though deeply uncomfortable questions with which Heron must grapple.