The Glow of My Lamp (A Nurse Shares Her Life) (Paperback)

In her "vignette" memoir, Judy Sharp tells how Nursing became the gateway to a life she aspired to. Born during the depression of immigrant Austrian parents in the steel city of Gary, Indiana, her pragmatic choice of a "practical" career instead of the artistic career she preferred, paid off big. She was able to have both Not only did she find that her nursing and medical school peers shared her musical and writing interests, but so did a senior staff physician - they married, had a daughter, worked, traveled. Judy meanwhile pursued her studies in music and writing, and sang semi-professionally. Upon the death of her husband, she nursed in commercial corporations, and Marshall Fields. She married her present husband, a cinmatographic-writer, and continued nursing and pursuing her artistic interests. Now retired, she is presently a nurse consultant for a group of Chicago Alternative Schools ("the most challenging experience of all ") schools for disturbed children who have been forced to leave traditional public schools because of unacceptable behaviour.
Judy's desire in compiling this small work is to underscore how Nursing brought her a rich and full life. At the time when our country is in dire need of nurses, she hopes this glimpse of her life will inspire others to think of how a nursing career, with its endless opportunities and rewards, can be both a pragmatic and artistic choice.