"I wrote this book for one reason—to enlighten readers about the inner world of the ICU. By sharing these stories, which chronicle more than twenty-five years working as an ICU nurse, I sincerely hope that all readers will benefit from my experiences. While writing this book, I've kept in mind that these readers will generally fall into two distinct categories: professional health-care workers (mostly nurses) and the general public.

For professionals, my hope is that all nurses, not just those with experience in the ICU, will benefit from the lessons I've learned during my career. I also hope that my narrative will "demystify" the activities in the ICU and help the general reader gain a better understanding by detailing what really happens in this unit and what, exactly, an ICU nurse experiences on a day-to-day basis.

Finally, I hope that this book will help initiate some thoughtful conversations concerning medical decisions and painful end-of-life choices, which are sometimes unnecessarily delayed and often not addressed in a timely manner."