Every now and then, a memoir comes along that doesn’t just recount events — it honours the people who lived through them. Memoirs From the Frontlines is one of those books.

Kim Sloan’s account of working as a travel ICU/ER nurse with her husband, John, during the early and brutal months of the COVID-19 pandemic is raw, honest, and deeply human. What begins as a couple living their dream on the road quickly becomes a record of unimaginable loss, exhaustion, courage, and resilience as they find themselves at the epicenter of the crisis in rural Georgia. What they witnessed there — and in Tennessee, Washington, and Nevada — is something most of us only saw from a distance.

Kim lived it.

What I appreciated most is the unfiltered sincerity of her storytelling. She doesn’t claim perfection. She doesn’t hide her emotions, her fears, or the moments when she struggled under the weight of trauma, grief, and exhaustion. Instead, she tells the truth as she experienced it: the packed ICUs, the heartbreaking goodbyes families were never able to make in person, the moral weight of fighting for patients who sometimes slipped away despite every effort.

But this memoir is not just about tragedy — it is about healing.

 Kim writes to help others understand that it’s okay to break, to lose your voice, to collapse under circumstances no human was designed to bear… as long as you do not stop trying to stand back up again.

Her courage in speaking openly about mental health, burnout, and emotional recovery is both admirable and important.

And throughout these pages, the love between Kim and John shines through — two nurses relying on each other when the world seemed to come undone. Their partnership adds a grounding emotional anchor to an otherwise devastating period in modern history.

This memoir is a tribute not only to Kim and John’s journey, but to every medical professional who carried the world’s fear on their shoulders during those years.

A powerful, heartfelt, and important read.

Read my Goodreads review here.

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