The opening pages of Rest and Be Thankful find the protagonist, a pediatric ICU nurse named Laura, working urgently to resuscitate a baby. It's a powerful scene; her arms are beyond tired, but she dare not pause, knowing that each compression could mean everything--or nothing--for the tiny patient. For her second novel, Emma Glass (Peach) has chosen to highlight Britain's nursing profession through the intimate thoughts and emotions of a young woman teetering on the edge of a physical and mental breakdown, her story portrayed through hypnotic, soulful prose and immersive dream sequences.
As demanding as her job is, Laura's home life offers no reprieve. Her first-person narrative addresses her live-in boyfriend who no longer loves her. We learn intimate details about their ragged relationship, but he remains a distant, unnamed figure, an enigma at the exploded center of her universe. With him Laura is needy, unsure of herself, stumbling, her internal screams unheard. In contrast, at the London hospital where she spends nightly 12-hour shifts, she is confident in her work, a respected colleague, sought out by distraught parents for her compassion. With a three-day break around the corner, Laura just has to make it through a grueling week before she can let herself fall apart.
Glass, a pediatric nurse, brings bold descriptive power to her writing, offering a shockingly realistic sensory experience for readers blissfully unfamiliar with the haunting heartache of a children's ICU ward. --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer