Impaired: A Nurse's Story of Addiction and Recovery

This is a very important topic substance abuse concerns permeate all facets of our society. Hearing the courageous stories of people's struggle with addiction helps to bring strength to all of us. Aaron Bryant: BSW,CSAC Author A Synchronous Memoir of Addiction and Recovery

Being an Rn Addict myself this book was wonderful. It helped me work through many of my feelings. It also has helped my friends and family exactly understand about my addiction, feelings, action, etc.

Having a loved one experiencing the struggle described in Impaired, I looked to many sources for guidance on how to best support her in her recovery. Understanding the depth of her struggle is key and this book provided new insight. With an impending appearance before the nursing board, the detailed description of the authors experience provides us tools with which we can prepare. Valuable not only to medical professionals, I enthusiastically recommend Impaired to family members, loved ones, or friends of nurses struggling with addiction.

I think this book would be especially useful to those in the medical profession - addicts, whether in recovery or needing to be, as well as their colleagues and administrators. There is a wealth of information that could help anyone needing to know how to navigate the path of getting help, especially if there has been disciplinary action taken. Others would also be well served in knowing the struggles of their co-workers to be able to view them with empathy and provide support. Much of the information could be helpful to anyone, not just medical professionals, who is dealing with their own addiction or that of someone else. I also am simply a fan of memoirs, and I enjoy reading about the triumph over struggles. This book is an enjoyable read on that front as well.

This is a must read for all professionals in the health care field, as well as for anyone who appreciates strong, informative and thought-provoking non-fiction. It makes the reader aware that substance abuse is the girl next door as well as the 800 pound gorilla at the dinner table, and that the proverbial fall from grace can happen to anyone. It is also a view into the inner workings of a state's board of nursing and the courage and just plain hard work it takes for a recovering nurse to reclaim a career. Inspiring! ---SMI