The Ones Who Stayed With Me – Day 4 Word Crafter Book Blog Tours Kay Castaneda, January 14, 2026January 14, 2026 The Ones Who Stayed With Me – Day 4 Word Crafter Book Blog Tours Hello everyone! I’m glad you stopped in for Day 4 of Word Crafter’s Book Blog Tour. We have a wonderful book, The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy. Give Away Leave a comment for a chance to win a free digital copy of The Ones Who Stayed With Me By Nurse Sammy One entry per stop. Winners are chosen in a random drawing. Sponsored by WordCrafter Press. Tour Schedule Mon. 12 – Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores & Masticadores Phillipines Tues. 13 – Writing to be Read – Interview Wed. 14 – Undawnted Thurs. 15 – Book Places Fri. 16 – Writing to be Read About The Ones Who Stayed With Me Chronicles of the journey into the medical field as a young nurse and beyond, told with raw sensitivity and compassion. The Ones Who Stayed with Me offers small glimpses into the world of an L.P.N. put in difficult, often touching or humorous, situations—and Nurse Sammy’s courage, vulnerability, and insight are a gift to us all. In these pages, Nurse Sammy tells her story and that of those she met along the way. Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/OnesWhoStayed Chapter Excerpt Reading of “The Year I Ate $2 Hotdogs”, by Nurse Sammy https://youtu.be/4g3iEbdcg4Q About Nurse Sammy Nurse Sammy has spent her life walking the quiet edges of human suffering and human grace. Long before she ever wore scrubs, she learned how to read a room by the way someone breathed and how to steady a shaking hand. How to listen to the stories people only tell when they think it might be their last night to say them. Nursing wasn’t a career she chose; it was the language her heart was already speaking. She has worked in places where life is beginning, and in places where life is ending; in rooms lit by hope, and in rooms where grief hangs heavy in the doorway. Rehab centers, memory care halls, pediatric units, assisted living, private homes, wherever someone needed gentleness, she went. She became the one who held vigil, the one who noticed the quiet details, the one who stayed. Her personal life has carried its own ache, abuse survived, love lost, a marriage that bruised the soul, another built from healing, and a grief that still hums beneath her ribs. She writes from the tender, broken places, from the nights she rebuilt herself alone, from the mornings she rose anyway. Her words are shaped by both the wounds and the resilience that followed. The Ones Who Stayed With Me is her first published work, a collection of truths disguised as stories, honoring the people who left fingerprints on her life in ways they never saw. Her writing is soft but unflinching, honest but merciful, threaded with the belief that even in darkness, someone is always holding a light. Nurse Sammy lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she continues to care, to witness, to learn, and to turn the hardest parts of her journey into something that might help someone else breathe a little easier. Wrap Up That’s it for today’s stop. I want to thank Kay Castenada for hosting and doing such an outstanding set up. And thank you all, for dropping by and helping to support the launch of this heart-rending book. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of The Ones Who Stayed With Me. Join us tomorrow on Writing to be Read, where we’ll wrap up the tour with another excerpt reading by Nurse Sammy. ________________________ Thanks to Kaye Lynn Booth for the chance to host Day 4 of this book blog tour. And thanks for visiting! Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today! Share this: Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Like this:Like Loading... Related Blog Tours Book Launch Book Promotion memoirs
This chapter makes a good point. AT the facility where I worked as a registered music therapist with the elderly, many of whom suffered from dementia, certified nursing assistants weren’t well-paid. Many of them were young and trying to support families. When they learned our local county hospital paid more, they were gone before you could say, “I need to pee.” Who can blame them? That was years ago, but I don’t dout it’s still the case now. For many corporations that run nursing homes, the bottom line is money, not people. Thank you for sharing. Loading... Reply
I agree with you, Abbie, that nursing assistants aren’t paid very well. I’ve known several people who worked at nursing homes. They all had to take a second job in order to just make ends meet. It’s sad that those who take care of our sick and elderly aren’t appreciated. Thanks for commenting! Loading... Reply
Hi Kay. Fabulous share. This book sounds like a great read on topics I’m always interested in. Thank you. 💜 Loading... Reply
Hi Debby, Thanks for visiting today. Nurse Sammy sounds like a wonderful person. I’m sure many readers will want to read her book. 🙂 Loading... Reply
Great post, Kay. I just finished reading this book, but listening to Nurse Sammy read this excerpt brought it home. Being a PSW (that’s what they call those who work in Nursing Homes in Ontario) is a tough job with little understanding, pay and appreciation. Loading... Reply