Shining the Light on All the Right: Celebrating the Art of Nursing Around the World

by Mark and Bonnie Barnes, Jim Eber (Contributor)

All Mark and Bonnie Barnes wanted to do was say thank you to nurses for the compassionate care they experienced when their Patrick was hospitalized. Twenty years after they created the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, 136,000 nurses, nursing faculty and students, and nurse-led teams have been recognized and more than 1.6 million have been nominated. Over 4,000 organizations in all 50 United States and in 25 other countries honor their nurses with the DAISY Award. It is a moment most honorees say they will never forget. This book tells the story of how DAISY came to be—the whole story, in detail the co-founders never have shared before. Why they and their family felt compelled to say thank you to nurses for the extraordinary compassion they show patients and families every day. To read what is being said about Shining the Light on All the Right, visit www.DAISYfoundation.org/booktestimonials.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a copy of this book while at NTI, where I was sponsored through scholarship by DAISY to go.
I learned so much about the history of a group that not only acknowledged me as a work but also encouraged my growth. I wouldn’t not have been able to attend the conference if it were not for the generosity of the foundation.
Reading this book made me want to find a job at the foundation so that I can play a role in building up other nurses as the foundation has for me.

[Deniz Evangelista · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved reading about Patrick's story. It was a page turner for me until the end of that first chapter, and suddenly, it became painfully dry and more about the growth of Daisy from a business perspective, rather than a depiction of nurses' compassionate care and the perspective of their patients.
I'm a nurse; this book was gifted to us as a hospital freebie during the peak of COVID-19 in the year 2020, a time when all nurses felt burnt out, pushed to our limits, and far from "heroes." I'm not sure if this was given to boost our morale, but it was very difficult to read about the appreciation of nurses when our reality was the complete opposite. As a nurse now on the DAISY committee, it's evident that either the standards for what the book describes as "exceptional care" has lowered, or patients and families are just not as motivated to nominate their healthcare providers. Although I will always support movements implemented to recognize the hard work and dedication of my peers, I believe it's a program that needs constant revisiting and reinforcement to keep up with its growth.

Additionally, it was difficult to tell who was narrating the story as it constantly switched between first and third person.

For any nurses out there, I would love to know your thoughts after reading this book.