The key error that potential readers of A Nurse’s Story could make is to assume that the book is chiefly a worthy, public-interest kind of volume; the kind that a good citizen really ought to get around to perusing some day. Given the uninspiring title, and the fact that nursing has become such a politically charged subject, that would be a natural first assumption.

Which is too bad, because as it turns out, the main reason to open the book is that it’s a cracking good read. Miraculously, having spent almost 20 years working in an intensive care unit, Shalof somehow knows more about economy of language and maintaining good pace than does many a professional memoir writer. She could also teach other authors a thing or two about how to recognize and sketch the essence of a character. Here, she’s found memorable characters throughout the hospital population, from maverick nurses and emotionally repressed doctors to overly enthusiastic priests and shockingly difficult and self-absorbed relatives.

Based on Shalof’s own experiences in various hospitals in Toronto and elsewhere, the book shows her going from a bumbling trainee to a competent, confident ICU nurse, conquering her terror and learning how to connect with patients, their families, and a tight circle of other nurses, many of whom are busy battling their own demons.

One element of the book that gets tiresome is the barrage of moralizing about questions such as who deserves a donated organ, or whether nurses should oppose life support when a patient is suffering horribly. These are good questions, but such ethical debates are already implicit – even in Shalof’s liveliest anecdotes. What do you do with a fiancée determined to extract sperm from her brain-dead boyfriend? Or with someone who wants to keep her father alive even though he is literally rotting in bed? Should you try to make a group of mobsters stick to visiting hours? Is a mother having an inappropriate relationship with her seriously ill son, and is it really anyone’s business?

Despite the overt moralizing, this is undoubtedly a strong memoir. I hope it’s not the only story Shalof has to tell.