Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward: My 30 Years as a Psychiatric Nurse

One flew east, one flew west, one stayed thirty years in the cuckoo's nest. This is his story.

Kevin O'Hara worked for three decades as a psychiatric nurse at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There he brought to his patients the same warmth and humor that won him acclaim for his first two memoirs, the beloved Irish travel saga Last of the Donkey Pilgrims, and A Lucky Irish Lad, his precise and witty evocation of growing up as an Irish Catholic immigrant in the 1950s and 60s.

Now he tells the stories of the many colorful characters he encountered on the locked ward over all those years, and of the camaraderie of hospital workers. Though intended to be entertaining -- rollicking even - Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward has much to say about changes in the medical profession and mental health treatment over those years.

Set within the framework of a transformative week near the end of his career, O'Hara careens freely through the years to tell his story (and those of others) with characteristic energy, unbridled humor, and feeling for detail. Storytelling is the essence, both of the book and of his therapeutic practice.

Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward is a celebration of the helping professions, and an implicit exploration of what it means to be human. Darn funny too. Join Nurse Lite and his merry band for a marvelous series of adventures, some happy, some sad, but always moving.

1140787986
Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward: My 30 Years as a Psychiatric Nurse

One flew east, one flew west, one stayed thirty years in the cuckoo's nest. This is his story.

Kevin O'Hara worked for three decades as a psychiatric nurse at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There he brought to his patients the same warmth and humor that won him acclaim for his first two memoirs, the beloved Irish travel saga Last of the Donkey Pilgrims, and A Lucky Irish Lad, his precise and witty evocation of growing up as an Irish Catholic immigrant in the 1950s and 60s.

Now he tells the stories of the many colorful characters he encountered on the locked ward over all those years, and of the camaraderie of hospital workers. Though intended to be entertaining -- rollicking even - Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward has much to say about changes in the medical profession and mental health treatment over those years.

Set within the framework of a transformative week near the end of his career, O'Hara careens freely through the years to tell his story (and those of others) with characteristic energy, unbridled humor, and feeling for detail. Storytelling is the essence, both of the book and of his therapeutic practice.

Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward is a celebration of the helping professions, and an implicit exploration of what it means to be human. Darn funny too. Join Nurse Lite and his merry band for a marvelous series of adventures, some happy, some sad, but always moving.

29.99 In Stock
Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward: My 30 Years as a Psychiatric Nurse

Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward: My 30 Years as a Psychiatric Nurse

by Kevin O'Hara
Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward: My 30 Years as a Psychiatric Nurse

Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward: My 30 Years as a Psychiatric Nurse

by Kevin O'Hara

Hardcover

$29.99 
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Overview

One flew east, one flew west, one stayed thirty years in the cuckoo's nest. This is his story.

Kevin O'Hara worked for three decades as a psychiatric nurse at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There he brought to his patients the same warmth and humor that won him acclaim for his first two memoirs, the beloved Irish travel saga Last of the Donkey Pilgrims, and A Lucky Irish Lad, his precise and witty evocation of growing up as an Irish Catholic immigrant in the 1950s and 60s.

Now he tells the stories of the many colorful characters he encountered on the locked ward over all those years, and of the camaraderie of hospital workers. Though intended to be entertaining -- rollicking even - Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward has much to say about changes in the medical profession and mental health treatment over those years.

Set within the framework of a transformative week near the end of his career, O'Hara careens freely through the years to tell his story (and those of others) with characteristic energy, unbridled humor, and feeling for detail. Storytelling is the essence, both of the book and of his therapeutic practice.

Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward is a celebration of the helping professions, and an implicit exploration of what it means to be human. Darn funny too. Join Nurse Lite and his merry band for a marvelous series of adventures, some happy, some sad, but always moving.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781627203951
Publisher: Loyola College/Apprentice House
Publication date: 05/01/2022
Pages: 380
Sales rank: 1,070,752
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

About The Author
Kevin O'Hara, a retired R.N. following a 30-year career at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA, is also the proud recipient of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Award. In addition, Kevin is a longtime contributing columnist for The Berkshire Eagle, and was Writer-in-Residence at Herman Melville's farmhouse, Arrowhead, in 2020. Kevin and his wife, Belita, live in Pittsfield, MA., where his parents first put down roots in 1953, after emigrating from England by way of Ireland. They have two grown sons, Eamonn and Brendan.
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