Rest and Be Thankful

A timely novel about the shifting world of exhausted nurse Laura, who learns to love the early hours of the morning as it is the only daylight she will see for the next 12 hours. She and her boyfriend, tired of each other, navigate a gritty path. Author Emma Glass is a paediatric nurse, and she displays a courage to stare deep into the unsettling reality of life. The man who is the underground attendant has been stamping his feet to get warm forever, but still smiles at the nurse. She tries to love London but London doesn’t love itself. On her ward, she and her watch become “little-bit” mothers and fathers to their long-stay charges. She clutches Buddy to her chest, removing her fob watch so as not to scrape his cheek. She pumps a child’s heart. “I turn my head … and see her mother. She has one hand clawing at her eyes … A nurse is behind her, one hand on her shoulder, another ready to catch her. A position we have all been taught.” Her nightmares collide with her daytime movements, dream and reality blur.