Stephen P. Kiernan
Stephen P. Kiernan's new novel is The Hummingbird.
From his Q & A with Laurie Hertzel for the Star Tribune:
Q: The protagonist of “The Hummingbird” is a hospice nurse, and the scenes are written with a lot of detail. What kind of research did you have to do to get that kind of authority?Learn more about the book and author at Stephen Kiernan's website and blog.
A: My first book (“Last Rights”) was a nonfiction examination of end-of-life medical treatment, and I learned about hospice for that project. After its publication, thousands of people told me the stories of the care their loved ones had received in their final days — most of it painful, futile, expensive and unwanted.
Hospice was the opposite: pain-free, concerned with the patient’s emotional and spiritual well-being, and interested in comfort when a cure is no longer possible. That work was the foundation on which I built the character of Deborah Birch, whose humane medical care grew to become a means of even wider healing.
Q: “The Hummingbird” also deals with PTSD and its effect on returning soldiers and their families. Why did you decide to pair these two extremely weighty themes together — end of life and PTSD?
A: This book is actually...[read on]
My Book, The Movie: The Curiosity.
Writers Read: Stephen Kiernan (July 2013).
The Page 69 Test: The Curiosity.
--Marshal Zeringue
