This time of year, after all the preparations for the holidays are over and before the New Year begins, you might be wanting some time to breathe, slow down, catch-up. And yet, the forces that were winding up before the holidays…

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.” Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning Several years ago, around 4 PM on a Saturday afternoon, I arrived with my mother…

Here is something a bit different. Over the next few days, perhaps you will have, need and take a few minutes for yourself for a story about a nurse who discovers a magical stethoscope.  This past summer master storyteller, Leo…

The winds of a cyclone were gathering strength out in the waters off the Pacific Northwest Coast several weeks ago. Here in Port Townsend, my husband, Randy, spent the day preparing, making sure we had the necessary things battened down…

I’m not a cat person. Well, I wasn’t before a shiny, sleek cat ran up our stairs, through our open door and climbed up onto our bed. With a little investigation, we found out Kibo lived a 1/2 mile away…

As a nurse, a mom, an auntie and as a friend, I’ve probably been asked or offered to hold someone’s hand, thousands of times. I imagine you have, too. Some moments stand out for me: Sitting at the bedside of an…

I was excited when I read the buzz on last month’s article, Depression, daily stressors and inflammatory responses to high-fat meals: when stress overrides healthier food choices, published in Molecular Psychiatry. Cited in the New York Times, and many other newspapers and science journals as…

A few weeks ago, on a New York City subway (the #1 train heading downtown), I saw this poem by Marilyn Nelson behind a few passengers’ heads. A Strange Beautiful Woman A strange beautiful woman met me in the mirror the…

Thank you so much for being a part of Leading Edge Nursing!  Some of you have already seen on FaceBook that I’ve launched a new eBook, Refill Your Cup. It’s been brewing for awhile, and emerged from many of your inspired responses to…

    Many years ago, as a holistic nurse consultant at a busy New York City hospital, I learned the power of an unconventional question. Late on a Thursday afternoon, a pre-op testing nurse pages me to her department. When I arrive,…