There’s always a few jobs out there that one knows for certain they could never handle. Personally, I could never be a teacher because I can barely manage my own two children and I find all their questions annoying (sorry not sorry). But for some reason the monumental task of being an emergency services responder always seemed like a potentially viable option for me, that is until I spoke to someone who was actually IN that role and they described the huge toll it takes on their mental health. Seeing tragedy day in and out is not for the faint of heart, and in case you haven’t realized it yet, I include myself in the ‘faint of heart’ category, so strike those career paths off my list! And in case I needed any more convincing that I could never hack it in that industry, I have The Waiting Hours by Shandi Mitchell to remind me.
We work alongside Kate, a nurse with an older brother in extremely dire mental straits; Mike, a police officer struggling to balance his demanding job with a young family and back pain that just won’t let up; and Tamara, an agoraphobic 911 dispatcher. None of these stories are far-fetched or extraordinary, we all have people like this in our lives. And this is precisely why these characters’ situations are so upsetting; they are the linchpins in our society, because if we didn’t have people willing to help us at our lowest, where would we all be? I don’t think it’s overkill to call them heroes, because our lives quite simply depend on people like them. But Mitchell dives so deeply into their inner lives that she reminds us all of the special struggles they face, mainly the expectation that they themselves are not supposed to break down as the rest of us do. Each character is struggling with major issues in their own lives and yet it’s taboo for them to talk about it, or even ask for help from their colleagues or superiors. Tamara remarks that she would have to be minutes away from death to call 911 for fear of embarrassing herself in front of coworkers. Vulnerability is frowned upon, which forces them to make foolish decisions as they fall deeper into their own holes of despair.
Tamara describes the problematic nature of her job (which is applicable to the other two characters as well):
“Taking a call was like reading the first chapter of a book and then having it snatched away” (p. 16 of ARC).
As a reader this quote of course horrified me (what could be worse?) but I think it hints at a big reason people struggle in these professions. They are bombarded by humanity at its worse, but are rarely able to follow through these frightening episodes and find closure. Instead, they act as one stop-over on a journey to misery or happiness, sometimes both. It’s for this reason that when the characters’ lives do cross-over, they have unspoken conversations with just their eyes or gestures, a language all their own. And this intimate experience of acting inside stranger’s lives is as a connector between each other, and a barrier between them and their loved ones who don’t work in the same field. It’s an isolating place to be, and an isolating thing to read about, but Mitchell paints a wonderfully sympathetic portrait of each, pushing the reader through the pages despite the difficult subject matter.
So I’ll admit this book gave me a bit of anxiety as I read it, but I still recommend it to others for the beauty and empathy it contains. Now, every time I hear a siren in the distance (which is often, because I live inner city) I’ll not only think of the victims who are in distress themselves, but the people riding along to their rescue, every bit as human and deserving of sympathy as the society they serve.
Yes, amazing people doing jobs I could never do! There are so many people out there willing to do the things the rest of us need done but can’t do ourselves – thank heavens for them. This sounds like an excellent tribute and a reminder to us all of the toll that kind of work takes on people.
Yup!!!!
Sounds intense. I can’t wait to read it, though! (And, no, I could never do those jobs. They’re brave!)
The picture of the book with the toy helicopter made me laugh. 🙂
I was hoping people would get that reference-thank you! haha
I’m not sure that I’ve read another book that is about various occupations that require saving lives and experiencing trauma as a result. However, trauma and the impact it has on people at work has totally been on my radar lately. Mark Zuckerberg has thousands of employees whose job it is to monitor Facebook for inappropriate videos, many of them involving murder, suicide, child pornography, etc. When asked by a congresswoman if he would watch these videos one hour per day and work as a moderator, he said he would not be a good use of his time. She asked if he was not qualified to be a moderator. He said that’s not what he meant. She then accused him of simply refusing to watch the traumatic videos and see the horrible photos that his employees have to. Here’s an interesting, concise article on it: https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-moderation-congress-2019-10
Ugh yah, I remember seeing something about this. That would truly be traumatizing, hopefully facebook pays for their counselling????
Great review and I really enjoyed that book trailer–especially at the very end, where the author finishes the video. That was super and thank you for sharing.
Thanks for reading! And the trailer was fun which is why I included it. Plus, Mitchell is a filmmaker herself so I felt like it was a nice nod to her other skills 🙂
I really liked this one and a friend of mine who has worked as an ER nurse thought it was a great portrayal of that kind of work. I absolutely know I couldn’t do a job like these but I’m so thankful there are people who do.
Oh that’s nice to hear that an ER nurse said it was well-done!
That’s what I felt too! Good endorsement!
Her work intrigues me. I know there’s something else by her on my TBR. And I like this cover. But I do also feel as though dinnerware (in fragmented and whole representation) on literary novels might be a little common now. Or, maybe I’m just taking note of it now, for some reason?
Hmm no you’re probably right, dinnerware is a nice go to for book designers haha
Her first novel Under The Unbroken Sky got really good reviews…