Family relationships

The numbers of transplant surgeries continue to rise in the U.S. This results in a greater number of caregivers who are present in the recipients' lives. Most often these caregivers are spouses. Transplant spouses present with emotional needs, which have been expressed in this study. Nurses, especially those who work with the spouses of transplant candidates and recipients, could be appreciative of the requirements that have been told by these spouses. Six women and two men were interviewed for this study. Their stories were analyzed using a phenomenological approach and five themes emerged from the data. The themes that surfaced included uncertainty, support, thankfulness and a positive approach, intimacy and the relationship as a couple, and guilt. Two general structures then evolved from these themes to include adaptation and belief in self and others. The general structures revealed the ways the spouses learned to live during the transplant journey.

Progress, Regress examines the narrator's journey through the world of mental illness. Psychologist Lisa James has a new client, six-year-old Megan Cooper, who has been diagnosed with child-onset schizophrenia. Megan's young age and the severity of her illness rattle Lisa, and make her question not only her role as a psychologist and a mother, but also her own mental state.

The Hurricane Notebooks is a manuscript-length memoir of the narrator's quest to piece together the enigmatic character of her late father. She does this through her discovery of his private notebooks as well as her unearthing of four generations of family turmoil.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a disability resulting in functional impairments and heightened dependence on others. Family members of persons with TBI can assume added responsibilities during the adjustment to the disability and rehabilitation process, placing strain on the family system. Community re-integration is a primary goal of the rehabilitation process for persons with TBI as this is a step in developing autonomy and promoting independence and productive activity throughout different areas of the person's life (e.g., work, social networks, and home life). This study was designed to examine predictors of community re-integration outcomes of TBI survivors and empirically test the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation while incorporating family needs by surveying caregiving family members. Specific aims of the study include validating relationships of the resiliency model with individual and family outcomes in adaptation and supporting future recommendations for healthcare providers working with families with members with TBI.

This novel is a work of fiction that explores the relationships between three women in the remote mountain village of Gildone in Southern Italy. It begins in 1956 after the protagonist, Liliana Farinacci, discovers she is pregnant. Her husband, Domenico, leaves Italy for Venezuela to find work. Before marrying Domenico, Liliana's former boyfriend, Raphael, confesses his love for her and leaves to better himself in Venezuela. Abandoned and alone Liliana escapes her sorrows at the family bakery that she runs. The novel follows Liliana, the birth of her daughter, Francesca, and the birth of her granddaughter Anna. Liliana copes with all the gossip in the small town. She also learns that the one secret her mother kept from her might have made a difference in her life's choices and happiness.

This work of creative nonfiction is meant to explore the effects of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder in American war veterans and their families. As a work of blended literary journalism and memoir, the author interviewed afflicted veterans from World War II to the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars, included scholarly research, and reflected on how her father's dealings with the disorder have affected her family.