When the caregiver needs solace

The Comfort Garden is an account of the five years Laurie Barkin worked as a psychiatric nurse consultant on the surgical/trauma unit at San Francisco General Hospital. Written in a literary style, these true and fast-moving stories disclose many tragic tales and some humorous. Against the backdrop of patients who have survived motor vehicle accidents, falls, fires, fists, bullets, and knives, The Comfort Garden explores what happens to professional caregivers when exposure to tragedy becomes routine. Vicarious trauma can affect anyone who regularly bears witness to victims’stories of violence, abuse, and neglect. She uses humor and beauty to counterbalance the sadness and weight of trauma.
Ms. Barkin also depicts a working parent’s ongoing struggle to juggle family life and work, especially when emotions run high in both arenas. The Comfort Garden will appeal to students, health care professionals, and anyone whose life has been touched by trauma.
Ms. Barkin ( www.lauriebarkin.com ) is a consultant to the Department of Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco.

Praise for The Comfort Garden: Tales from the Trauma Unit

Cortney Davis, author of The Heart’s Truth: Essays on the Art of Nursing. “Whenever we walk into a hospital or a doctor’s office we often assume that the patients are somehow broken, sick, or frightened and that the nurses and doctors are whole, healthy and brave. In stories that prove these assumptions false, Laurie Barkin shows us how permeable the line actually is between the cared for and the caregiver. She understands that, no matter, we are all healers and, at the same time, we are all in need of healing. In The Comfort Garden Barkin reveals not only the stories of her work with trauma patients but also equally moving stories of her heart. It is by such intimate sharing we are healed.”
Lenore Terr MD. Psychiatrist and author of Too Scared to Cry. “In an age when hospitals have been turning to quicker-acting medications, faster discharges, and fewer deep and meaningful conversations with patients, Laurie Barkin takes the opposite position. She urges us to make the time to use our knowledge of psychodynamic psychotherapy to help traumatized people early in the course of their distress.”
Echo Heron RN. Author of Intensive Care and The Story of a Nurse. “Psychiatric nurse, Laurie Barkin, gives the reader a close-up look at the heartbreaking and often chilling situations she faces each day in San Francisco General’s infamous trauma unit. The Comfort Garden is the compelling story of one nurse’s struggle to remain compassionate and sane while helping those whose lives have been shattered on the battlefield of the inner city.”
Jack Coulehan MD. Author of Medicine Stone. “The Comfort Garden, an engrossing journey into the contemporary world of hospital psychiatry… speaks eloquently to the humanity, compassion, and vulnerability of mental health professionals who help their patients navigate through some of the most difficult crises of their lives.”

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