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The Cost of Care
- Author
- Theresa Brown
- Narrator
- Donna Jay Fulks
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Publish Date
- 27 October 2026
- Run Time
- 8 hours 31 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Shift, this richly drawn portrait of four nurses in four different sectors of our broken healthcare system reveals where solutions are actually possible—to make care about people rather than profits.
Theresa Brown worked as a oncology nurse for years before finally burning out, but instead of leaving the healthcare system behind entirely, she set out to find places where it's actually working. She embedded with nurses in four key areas of care that cover the human lifespan—a maternity center in Pittsburgh, a primary care facility in Portland, an elder care home in Denver, and hospice services in the midwest and in Connecticut—and came back with gripping, and often deeply moving, on-the-ground stories of patient-centered care. Taking us into the daily lives and the exhausting yet rewarding shifts of these four practitioners, Brown gives readers a rare window into what kinds of healthcare facilities are actually doing things well, taking care of patients, keeping things affordable, and supporting staff.
Even as the system feels like it's crumbling around us, Brown reveals scalable solutions and reminds us that there's still hope—all through the eyes of the people we know keep the whole thing running: nurses.
Critics Review
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“Read this brilliant book to imagine a better future. Theresa Brown’s deep and powerful reporting on nurses illuminates exactly how our broken health care system could instead be humane, functional and even beautiful. Brown vividly brings to life the evidence-based, human-centered care that nurses provide and shows how much hope, promise, and practicality can be found in that practice. Brown's argument is a big one: A different world is possible when care is centered.” —Sarah DiGregorio, author of, Taking Care
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“As an antidote to burnout from a busy nursing career in the profiteering US health care system, Theresa Brown sought out islands of caring for real world patients. Like an anthropologist, she brings us into four places providing great care. A magnificent insider account that everyone should read.” —Eric Manheimer, MD, author of, Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital
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Details
- Author
- Theresa Brown
- Narrator
- Donna Jay Fulks
- Duration
- 8 hours 31 minutes
- Release Date
- 27 October 2026
- ISBN
- 9781668659533
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- Genre
- Nurse/patient relationship, Biography: science, technology and medicine
Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Shift, this richly drawn portrait of four nurses in four different sectors of our broken healthcare system reveals where solutions are actually possible—to make care about people rather than profits. Theresa Brown worked as a oncology nurse for years before finally burning out, but instead of leaving the healthcare system behind entirely, she set out to find places where it's actually working. She embedded with nurses in four key areas of care that cover the human lifespan—a maternity center in Pittsburgh, a primary care facility in Portland, an elder care home in Denver, and hospice services in the midwest and in Connecticut—and came back with gripping, and often deeply moving, on-the-ground stories of patient-centered care. Taking us into the daily lives and the exhausting yet rewarding shifts of these four practitioners, Brown gives readers a rare window into what kinds of healthcare facilities are actually doing things well, taking care of patients, keeping things affordable, and supporting staff. Even as the system feels like it's crumbling around us, Brown reveals scalable solutions and reminds us that there's still hope—all through the eyes of the people we know keep the whole thing running: nurses.
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