LUCY BURDETTE: I especially love today’s blog, not only because Chris is a dear friend with a wonderful new book out this week, but also because her subject hits so close to home. About ten years ago I was struggling with the same question when the time came to renew my psychology license. But I’ll let Chris tell it…welcome, and congratulations!
CHRISTINE FALCONE: Lucy, thank you for having me back on Jungle Red Writers today.
It’s hard to give up a part of your identity.
Melanie Bass, the protagonist in my mystery series, is a visiting nurse. I chose her profession because I am a retired RN and I was following the write what you know mantra. Melanie is deeply invested in providing the best care for her patients, and frequently gets involved in their personal lives. While Melanie’s biggest problem in book three of my series, Cutting Remarks, is clearing her close friend Lynn Duncan of murder, she also has another issue thrust onto her plate. The Home Healthcare agency she works for has hired a new nurse, Nora, and Melanie is charged with mentoring her as she settles in at the agency. In spite of Melanie’s efforts to get to know her better, Nora is reluctant to share any information about herself or her background. Melanie can accept the woman’s right to privacy, until she begins to question some of the care her new colleague is giving. She then becomes determined to find out what the woman is hiding. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the fact that Melanie’s profession is so deeply ingrained in her identity.
When asked about what I do, I always say I am a nurse; but in the next couple of months I am due to renew my license to practice as an RN. I have been retired for three years now and have renewed my license each year – “just in case”. But this year I think I finally must admit I don’t feel confident I can go back to active status. Therefore, I may not renew my license. This feels odd – and a bit frightening. But I know deep inside I will always be a nurse – licensed or not. When I became pregnant with my first child and decided to take a break from my position in the neonatal intensive care unit where I worked, I said good-bye to one of the doctors there and he said “Oh, you’ll be back! You nurses are like old fire horses – you hear the call and you come back!” Maybe not this time. I guess after three published books under my belt I can finally admit that I also identify as a writer.
Have any of you felt like you have given up a part of your identity once you no longer worked or practiced in a former profession?
ABOUT CHRISTINE FALCONE: Christine Falcone’s short stories have appeared in publications such as Imagine, Larcom Review, and Deadfall: Crime Stories by New England writers. After working for nearly forty years as an RN in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Christine was delighted that retirement coincided with the publication of her first full length mystery, EX’D OUT, published in October 2022. The second in the series, BORROWED TROUBLE, was published in October 2023. CUTTING REMARKS is out this week! Chris is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She lives on the Connecticut Shoreline with her family and a dog who is not nearly as well behaved as Bruno, the beloved canine in her novel.
Find Cutting Remarks on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Congratulations, Christine, on your new book . . . now I’m intrigued by your story description and wanting to know what Nora is hiding . . . .
ReplyDeleteI think it’s always a difficult decision when it comes to renewing licenses and whatnot relative to your career . . . whatever you decide, Christine, I’m sure it will be the right thing for you.
I can’t say that I felt as if I’d given up something of myself when I was no longer in the classroom, teaching every day. But then, teachers always seem to find a way to keep involved 😊
Thanks Joan! I was going to say the same thing about teachers - they may not always be in the classroom, but they always seem to be involved in education in some form.
DeleteCongratulations, Christine on your new novel and welcome to jungle reds!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Christine!
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't leaving a job that sent me into an identity crisis, it was selling my horse. More correctly, it was selling my horse trailer and manure spreader because I knew there would be no replacing those. I'd always been a horsewoman, but suddenly I wasn't. I had (still have, actually) a t-shirt with a cartoon of a girl in her barn, hay in her hair, pitchfork in hand, surrounded by cats, dogs, and a horse, and the caption read, "I am a very stable person." I looked at that shirt once the horses were all gone and figured I was now a very UNstable person.
That is a great t-shirt, Annette. I have a friend for whom it would be perfect! How did you work through your loss of 'horsy' identity?
DeleteThanks Annette - and you bring up a good point about the various parts of our life that make up our identity.
DeleteAnnette, I get what you mean. When I left my beloved hometown, I felt as if I lost my identity. We lived in a beautiful house with a garden. I was a teenager when we left and moved to a house that was very uncomfortable (half the size of the beautiful house and no garden). The new neighborhood was sketchy. I was happy and after the move, I was not happy. Thankfully, we lived there for very short time and since then, we lived in nicer places and I am happier now.
DeleteCongratulations on your new book. I'm in, when it comes to wanting to find out what Nora is hiding and what kind of questionable care she's giving.
ReplyDeleteAnnette, I love your story!
As for me, the transition from "teacher who writes" to former teacher who retired to write full time" still had me teaching an after school art club part-time for ten more years. It's such an immersive profession.
Thank you Elizabeth! I think it is great you returned - even if for a while- to teaching after you "retired".
DeleteChristine, it's wonderful to see you here today! Congratulations on book #3 in your series!
ReplyDeleteWhen you think that there is no way that you will go back and work at your profession, then it is actually a relief to give it up. Here in Connecticut, they do make it harder to stop paying for a license because for recertification, you have to take courses over again. But you will take your knowledge with you and you will always be a nurse, even without the license. So retire for real, Christine. You are an author!
Thanks Judy! While the basics remain the same, things are always changing and evolving in medicine and there are any number of recertification courses that are required to maintain your license even when you are still working. I still miss it sometimes, but I knew when it was time to retire.
DeleteCHRISTINE: Congratulations on your new book!
ReplyDeleteI retired in 2016. Yes, it felt weird to no longer say that I was a federal government employee or climate change researcher when I was asked at immigration/customs in a new country. Saying "retired" as my status was an adjustment.
Thanks Grace. I love being retired, though!
DeleteCongratulations, Christine! Best wishes to you for the book, and waving hi to the Connecticut shore where I grew up.
ReplyDeleteIn the last few years of bad health I had to retire from teaching U.S. history and then give up my cows. I thought both decisions were temporary but even as my health has improved in 2024, I have found myself reluctant to put myself back under the hammer of working so hard. I was offered a return to part of my old teaching job last August and I turned it down, and though I look at ads for Jersey heifers I don't go any further (Annette, I too sold my trailer and can't replace it). Mostly I've had to face that I am older and "tireder" and some things are in the past. That's been a challenge as some of the "now" is sad and unlikely to change. (Selden)
Thank you! I'm glad to hear your health is improving. I know what you mean about feeling older and more tired. It is important to acknowledge you sometimes just can't do as much as you used to do.
DeleteSelden, I hope at least some of the 'sad' improves for you in 2025. My mom was more than ready to give up her cows, but I don't think my dad ever came to terms with giving up his hunting dogs.
DeleteI'm glad you've been able to wear your Writer hat with pride, Christine. As you say, inside you will always be a nurse. (Also, bless you for being a NICU nurse. When I saw how skilled and gentle those professionals were with my micro-preemie granddaughter Ida Rose last year for three months, I wanted to hug each one of them.)
ReplyDeleteWhen I left my day job as a software technical writer almost eleven years ago, I was ready to take on the role of full-time writer. I think that helped a lot, that I loved the new job more than the old one.
Thank you Edith - for some reason my first reply disappeared. I loved following your granddaughter's progress through your Facebook posts - I am so glad she is doing so well now! As to your "new job" - you are an inspiration to us all!
DeleteYour new book sounds terrific, Christine. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteAs for identity, it's a favourite thing of mine to ponder. I loved being an 'instructor' of communication at the local college, so giving up that job title was hard when I retired about three years ago, and I didn't take easily to the new title that people wanted to thrust on me 'retiree' -- what does that mean? Because I have created a new channel in the community for my teaching (life writing is the focus), I now describe myself as a 'community educator'. The identity of 'writer' took a long time to embrace, but after years of self-talk, external validation, and general fatigue with my internal struggle, I now am confident saying I am a 'writer'.
Identity lies at the core of who we are, how we see ourselves -- and, importantly, how we want the world to see us. Christine -- I can imagine the challenge of renewing or not renewing your professional license. It's a huge step, and I wish you well in this next stage of being yourself as Writer.
Thank you Amanda! You make a very good point about identity being how we want to be seen by others as well as how we see ourselves. I often will say something, maybe use a term, in conversation with someone whom I have just met and they will say "you are a nurse, aren't you?"
DeleteYour series sounds amazing Christine!
ReplyDeleteI knew when I retired from 9-1-1 that there would be no going back. We were just starting the process to train everyone and transition to a new computer system. I decided to go in part because I didn't want to go through (again!) the difficult problems that each transition entails. But I'll always be a dispatcher--it has given me some skills and marked and shaped me in so many ways.
Thank you Gillian. I know what you mean about keeping up with changes in your profession - and when you are in a profession where the public's health or safety is at stake it is crucial. You just know when it is time to step down. I just knew I could no longer keep up the pace required - of myself as well as of the unit I worked on- when I retired.
DeleteI have not, but my mom did. She was also an RN and accepted a promotion to administration. After a few years, she went back to working "the floor" because being an administrator "wasn't nursing."
ReplyDeleteMe, I was always a writer. First as a technical writer, now fiction as well.
Congrats on the book!
Thank You, Liz!
DeleteCongrats on your book release. I plan to retire this year and it will be hard to not say " I work at the daytime situation"
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dru Ann! And thank you for all you do for everyone in the writing community. Wait - aren't you also an award-winning author?!
DeleteChristine, I like the sound of your series and will have to get my hands on copies to read..
ReplyDeleteWell, it's not quite a "profession" because it was just something I did for free, when my time as a youth basketball coach came to an end, it was like losing part of my identity because I'd done it for 25 years. A long time. So long that I coached the kids of kids I had coached. But I've been out of it for more than 12 years now so it is less like a part of my identity and more of a part of my past these days.
Thank you Jay! I hope you enjoy the books. Even though you were a volunteer coach you still were a coach! It is especially impressive that you worked with young people and i am sure made a very positive difference in their lives.
DeleteChristine, I too want to know what Nora's hiding! As for your nursing dilemma, that's a hard one! My oldest nephew spent several months in a NICU as a newborn--the hospital held reunions for patients over the years and several of his nurses cried each time he came--tall and strong and never a sign of those early months--thanks to his doctors, yes, but most of all, thanks to those nurses who cared so much for him!
ReplyDeleteWhen I retired from my profession as an archaeologist, I retired all the way--no consulting, no contributions to research, no attending conferences. I took part-time jobs in first a local museum, then in the local library. This suits me perfectly--no responsibility except to help patrons find books. I love the challenge of this. Once I was asked to find large print books on 'interesting' nonfiction subjects for a gentleman in an assisted living situation. Who has the best large-print books? Which subjects were hits and which misses for him? And just yesterday, a shy high school boy asked me if we had any books on how to write a novel! You go, kid, several books are about to pop up on your hold shelf!!
Thank You Flora! I volunteer with the Friends of the Library at my local library and love it! Also- it sounds as if you are still "uncovering things" for people - books this time.
DeleteI love your new passion Flora! Perfect for a retired archeologist
DeleteCongratulations on the new book, Christine!
ReplyDeleteI ended my career as a professional fundraiser for a non-profit. I had earned the Certified Professional Fundraiser designation (a multi-year process that must be renewed every threee years) and was active in the Central Ohio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals -- even served on the board for a term. When I retired, I kind of thought I'd keep my affiliation active. There's even a retired status one can obtain for the CFP designation. But once I retired I found that really had never been as much an "identity" as I thought at the time. I miss some of the people with whom I used to associate, but I'm content to leave fundraising well and fully in the past and focus on other things now.
I still mis many of the people I work with, also. Many of my former colleagues and I get together every month or so to catch up!
DeleteCongratulations on the release of Cutting Remarks, Chris! Having read it, I’m sure your readers are going to love it. Also, congrats on your decision to step away from your nursing license. Your license didn’t define the incredible nurse you were and still are. Now you’re continuing to use those skills in a new way through your writing.
ReplyDeleteI had no hesitation giving up my own professional license when the time came. While I loved my career, I didn’t want to live in the past. Retirement isn’t an ending; it’s the start of a bright new chapter, and I know yours will be filled with success and creativity.
Thanks Ang! Giving up my license is a huge step but deep down I know it is the right one at this stage in my life.
DeleteI can't wait to read Cutting Remarks, Chris. The first two books in your series were so good. Congratulations, and thank you for giving us a peek into your nursing career.
ReplyDelete(This is Lisa, BTW. I didn't realize I was anonymous!)
DeleteThanks Lisa! Thank you for helping me keep on track with my writing, also, through our daily write-ins!
DeleteCongratulations on Cutting Remarks, Chris! I too can’t wait to read it! And thanks for all you did as a NICU nurse. My son , the runner, was a NICU baby. The nurses there had enormous responsibilities, both for the preemies and the parents! It’s a challenging job, and I’m sure you earned your retirement. And I’m glad I get to write with you as a result!
DeleteChris, you never lose the capacity to heal and advise, when you're a nurse. That knowledge gets ingrained, I suspect. Looking forward to reading your series!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I are the opposite: I have had many serial (and sometimes overlapping) career paths, while he has been on the same one for well over 50 years. It was easy for me, since I have always stayed flexible, but he has had a tough time winding down, even at 75. And our neighbor, a musician, is even worse at 83. They keep talking about another collaboration I know will never happen, but neither can acknowledge that they have reached a natural conclusion to their work lives.
Fifty years is a long time in one profession! I think retirement doesn't always suit everyone, so if he enjoys planning another collaboration I think "good for him!"
DeleteSounds like a fun read congratulations on the release of book 3. Deborah
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deborah!
DeleteI "retired" when we left our home of 18 years and moved to another state. I felt burned out though I missed the camaraderie of my office but not the deadlines. I continued to practice in a way, doing my parents' and my little brother's taxes, personal and trusts. For years I said I was self unemployed rather than retired. I did not renew my CPA license as my new state made it more difficult. They did not have a retired status with minimum requirements. My husband's job disappeared and he was temporarily forced into retirement because of his age. He did pick up consulting jobs for a while until Covid hit. I think he would still take a job if it grabbed him. He does not like to be idle.
ReplyDeleteChis, it sounds to me like you're a full time writer retired from active nursing!
Thanks Pat! I like your description -full time writer retired from active nursing. I agree that there are some things you miss from your previous career and things you certainly DON'T!
DeleteIt's as hard choice, isn't it. I was a certified paralegal for over twenty years. When the pandemic brought an end to my employment in the same month I was faced with renewing my certification I fudged and went on inactive status. It's only this past year that I understood that my days of statutes and briefs were over. The lack is like a phantom limb, but I know the time had come. Welcome to retirement! I'm looking forward to meeting Melanie.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kait! I like the phantom limb analogy.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Christine, on your third book in the series! I read the first book and enjoyed it, but apparently dropped the ball on reading book #2. That’s okay because I now have two to enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteI retired from being an elementary school librarian in 2021. That last year and a half was difficult because of the new requirements placed on the librarians to deal with the technology that came about due to the pandemic. Instead of getting to focus on the library, suddenly we were computer technicians, trying to figure out why Chromebooks weren’t working. I was happy to leave that part of the job behind, but definitely missed the kids and my colleagues. For a couple of years I would volunteer in a few classrooms, reading chapter books to the kids. That was the best!! I got to spend more time with them than a regular library visit would allow and we’d discuss the book. Eventually, though, I stopped doing that, too. (But I do still meet up with my retired librarian friends for lunch!) — Pat S
Thank you Pat - I hope you enjoy the other two books! Not having to deal with new hospital rules and procedures that had nothing to do with direct patient care was one of the things I looked forward to when I retired.
DeleteCongratulations on the publication of CUTTING REMARKS, Christine!
ReplyDeleteOccasionally I feel a mental snap-back into my former training as a lawyer. I only worked as a paralegal, and that for a few years, since I was busy having kids, but the education on how the law works, and the changes those three years make in how one's brain works, apparently lasts a lifetime. I guess I'm fortunate in that my two core identities - writer and mother - are still going strong.
Thank you, Julia! Yes all that training and education, no matter how many years you practiced active does stay with you. I have to agree that mother, as well as writer now, are also part of my core identity.
DeleteCongratulations on your third book, Christine. I think after 40 years as a neonatal nurse and now three books out, it's a great time to let your license as a nurse go and start wearing your new hat as a writer. And, as you say, you'll always be a nurse inside anyway. If someone is hurt, your nurse identity will kick in without you even thinking about it. I know my teacher identity kicks in quite a bit, and I have to be careful that I don't sound didactic in certain conversations. I was explaining something about philosophy to a lawyer, and he told me he did have a degree from Harvard and knew some things. Well, personally, I didn't see that his degree from Harvard guaranteed he knew what I was talking about, but I did the right thing and apologized, explaining that I sometimes just get carried away with a topic. Teacher had jumped out and taken over, and I had to silence her ambitious methods.
ReplyDeleteSince I haven't been reviewing books for close to two years now due to circumstances beyond my control, I have felt a large loss of who I had become over the last fifteen years. Reading mystery and crime and reviewing it on my blog was what I did, and if someone were to ask me what I did, I would say I read and review books for my blog. Luckily, I have a great community of readers and authors who make sure I know that I am still a part of that world.
Thanks Kathy _ I love your story about the Harvard educated lawyer! Some people take offense so easily!LOL! It was nice of you to apologize.
DeleteEducation and life long learning are still in my DNA even though I no longer have that piece of paper granting me license to teach. On the other end of it, when I went to work after being a never at home volunteering mom, it was eye opening to me how I changed in my young daughter’s eyes. It was like I suddenly became a real person.
ReplyDeleteIt really is hard when you can't make your children's events or volunteer to help out in the classroom. One thing I love about being retired is that now I don't have to worry if I will be off to celebrate holidays, or if I will be working on a weekend of a family event!
ReplyDelete