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A Final Arc Of Sky: A Memoir Of Critical Care (2009)

by Jennifer Culkin(Favorite Author)

3.74 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0807072850 (ISBN13: 9780807072851)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Beacon Press

review 1: I loved the title and the concept. The writing is sublime and at times it is harrowing. The overall structure and execution of the book, however, fell a little short in places.When an author comes up with a title this good, you know she can put words together. Here's an example of a passage that I really loved: "From the schoolyard, I could smell the brine lifting off the confluence of Boston Harbor and the Chelsea River, a mile or two away, working on me like an elixir. What I wanted more than anything was to cross Revere Beach, my feet burning like a firewalker's on the dry, gray sand, to wade through the muck of brown seaweed at water's edge, to fold myself inch by inch into the Atlantic." Magnificent!! It really puts me there. I wish I could remember my childhood half ... moreso vividly.The book, structured as a series of vignettes, lacks a little bit of cohesion. I agree with the people who questioned the wisdom of devoting half the book to the story of her parents' deaths. It takes the book away from its strength, a peek into this amazing world of in-flight nursing, and turns it into just a memoir of Jennifer Culkin's life. I feel harsh and cynical for saying this, but everybody of a certain age has to deal with those issues -- it's just not *that* original a story. I'm not saying she should have written the book differently, but it did make the book more ordinary in my opinion.However, the final chapter, where she tells the stories of the people who lost their lives in this hazardous occupation, redeems any other shortcomings the book has. It also raises a big flag in my mind. Six deaths in less than ten years, in a company that employs a few dozen people? Does OSHA know about this?Finally, the way she writes about her multiple sclerosis is remarkable. In anybody else's autobiography, this would have been front and center. In hers, you don't even find out until the second-to-last chapter! Congratulations, Jennifer Culkin, on not letting your life be defined by your illness. I hope that it will continue to be so and I hope that they will eventually find a cure.
review 2: This book was surprisingly poetic. While some of the nursing details were hard to read- both hard in that life is fragile, and hard in that they're a little graphic - I found myself devouring the book anyway. Culkin does a good mix of her career and her life. Both are tumultuous. She has amazing connections with coworkers and family, and I believe much of her strength comes from this, as well as a no-nonsense attitude. less

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