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Algonquin Books
June 2007
On Sale: May 24, 2007
304 pages
ISBN: 1565124871
EAN: 9781565124875
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Biography
Carolyn Jourdan had it all: the Mercedes Benz, the fancy
soirees, the best clothes. She moved in the most exclusive
circles in Washington, D.C., rubbed elbows with big
politicians, and worked on Capitol Hill. As far as she was
concerned, she was changing the world.
And then
her mother had a heart attack. Carolyn came home to help
her father with his rural medical practice in the
Tennessee mountains. She'd fill in for a few days as the
receptionist until her mother could return to work. Or so
she thought. But days turned into weeks.
Her job
now included following hazmat regulations for
cleaning up bodily fluids; maintaining composure when
confronted with a splinter the size of a steak knife;
distinguishing between a "pain," a "strain," and
a "sprain" on indecipherable Medicare forms; and tending
to the loquacious Miss Hiawatha, whose daily doctor visits
were never billed.
Eventually, Jourdan gave up
her Mercedes and made do with a twenty-year-old postal
jeep. She shed her suits for scrubs. And the funny thing
was, she liked her new life. As she watched her father
work tirelessly and uncomplainingly, she saw what making a
difference really meant: being on call all hours of the
day and night, tolerating the local drug addict's frequent
phone calls, truly listening to Miss Hiawatha. It meant
just showing up, every day, and taking care of every
person in Strawberry Plains and beyond, whether he got
paid to do it or not. And for his daughter, it meant
learning that her real place to change the world was right
here—in her hometown—by her father's side.
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