Author Description

It's day one for newly hired hospice nurse, Amelia Bowden, 26 years old. Anxious and eager to prove herself as competent and caring, she is assigned to Carol Schultz, a sweet elderly woman on palliative care in need of assistance. Yet when Amelia arrives at Carol's home, she can see that Carol is experiencing neglect-and possibly worse-at the hands of Carol's husband, Earl. During her nursing visits, Carol invites Amelia to read her personal diaries out loud and soon, Amelia realizes that Carol's life mirrors her own. Shockingly, Amelia's visits begin to cross professional boundaries as the young nurse pursues answers from Carol regarding addiction, marriage, and even love. As Carol becomes weaker and her end draws near, the lines between friendship, professionalism, and end-of-life care blur as heartbreaking questions beg how best to care for those whose care may be mostly out of our hands?