The Care Factor: A story of nursing and connection in the time of social distancing

(Paperback)

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The Care Factor tellsthestoryof one incredible nurse one among many who chose to meetan unprecedentedglobalhealthcrisison thefrontline.

Simone Sheridan has one of the most sought-after skills today. As a nurse, her skill is to care. When Covid-19 began to spreadacross the world in 2020, Sim volunteered to retrain to work inMelbournesintensive careunits. Andas sheprepared to go back toICUand case numbers began climbing,Simstarted talking to her friend Ailsa. Through the exhaustion, the confusion, the many tears and the surprising moments of hilarity, Sim kept talking. And Ailsa started writing.

InThe Care Factor, Ailsa walks behind Sim as she faces the realities ofthe coronavirus.Theresult is a deeply human account of what the pandemic has really meant, not just for Simand her fellow health professionals, but also for theirpatients, theirfamiliesand friends, and the manywhofacedlife inlockdown.Thisis a celebration ofnursing, of friendship, and ofthe layers of connection andcarethat allow us to keep going when it feels impossible.

Hardie Grant Books will donate $1 from each copy sold to Drummond Street Services

'This book has single-handedly restored my faith in humanity. Offering a rare and thrilling glimpse into the life of a frontline healthcare worker during the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Care Factoris full to bursting with spirit, guts, empathy and love. It humbled and moved me in so many ways. I cant recommend it enough!' Emily Bitto, author of Stella Prize winning novelThe Strays

Reviews

'This book has single-handedly restored my faith in humanity. Offering a rare and thrilling glimpse into the life of a frontline healthcare worker during the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Care Factoris full to bursting with spirit, guts, empathy and love. It humbled and moved me in so many ways. I cant recommend it enough!' Emily Bitto, author of Stella Prize winning novelThe Strays

'vivid and disturbing, though ultimately life-affirming ...provides a piercing insight into just how more complicated and fraught all aspects of modern healthcare have become ...for professionals and patients alike.' Simon Caterson, The Australian

Author Bio

Ailsa Wild was a professional acrobat and whip-cracker who ran away from the circus to become a writer. She is now an author, performer and creative facilitator with a history of deep collaboration.

Ailsas work has appeared inMeanjin,The Monthly, ABC online and#MeToo: Stories from the Australian movement. Ailsa has also written two junior fiction series:Squishy TaylorandThe Naughtiest Pixie(Hardie Grant Childrens Publishing). She is the lead writer of Small Friends Books (CSIRO Publishing), where she works with microbiologists, virologists and other scientists to translate complex science into narrative picture books.Of these, Zobi and the Zoox was the first childrens book to win the Royal Zoological Society of NSW Whitely Medal, and the YA graphic novelThe Invisible Warwas a CBCA notable and won several awards including Most Underrated Book Award.