Local nurse becomes author with her first book about PTSD

REGIONAL — What started out as a way to deal with her stress, recently became a first published book for Marcie Resendes.

With Nurse’s Week upon us this week, the local author has published her first book in timely fashion.

“It didn’t begin that way, but as Nurse’s Week approached, I reached out to the publisher and they got it printed,” she said.

That book, titled ‘If The Brain Could Stop What The Eyes Have Seen’, is her first published works and is now available on Amazon and in hard copy form.

The book is subtitled ‘A Nurse’s Perspective on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’ and follows Marcie’s career as a nurse over the past 20 years and how she dealt with a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has managed to overcome the affliction.

The married mother of three was born and raised in Leamington.

An honest account of her days in nursing and the chain of events that led to her diagnosis, make up a good portion of the 189-page book, which came out on Amazon in April.

But the resources that led to her recovery and her battle back from PTSD also play a large part in the publication.

As hard copies arrived at her doorstep last Tuesday, Marcie was inundated with requests for the book and spent most of last week delivering copies locally to those interested in reading her story.

Through Walkerville Publishing, she had 550 books printed and says about 400 of them are already spoken for.

After many years as an ER nurse, Marcie thought she had the flu, but soon got the diagnosis that she was suffering from PTSD.

“Work life starts to affect you,” she said. “You think it’s part of the job. Nurses make that assumption all the time.”

What she found out through her recovery, is that if you’re still thinking about an incident a month later, you should reach out and get some help.

She was off work for over a year and is now back working full-time, in a different capacity.

The message Marcie wants to get across is simple.

“It’s okay not to be okay,” she said.

She’s had people from all professions reach out about her book and is happy that her co-workers have also been very supportive.

“They are totally supportive,” she said. “I’ve been contacted by nurses, paramedics, police, coast guard — all professions that deal with this.”

What she’s hoping is that her book will help those that are struggling with PTSD in her profession and in others.

She provides a wealth of resources and tips — the same resources that helped her along her journey through the disorder.

Visit Marcie’s website at marcieresendesbook.ca, which will link to the Amazon listing and also give you an opportunity to contact her for a hard copy.