More than Just a CNA

About this book

She took care of everyone. But who takes care of her?You know what it feels like to be invisible.You show up every shift, answer every call bell, lift every patient, hold every trembling hand. You push through swollen knees, skipped meals, and holidays spent under fluorescent lights. You give everything you have, and still, no one sees you. Not the nurses who dismiss you. Not the system that underpays you. Not the world that praises everyone in healthcare except you. If you have ever cried in a bathroom stall and then walked back into a patient's room with a smile, this book was written for you.More Than Just a CNA: Stories from a Lifelong Caregiver is the raw, unflinching memoir of Michelle Simone, a Certified Nursing Assistant with over thirty years on the floor. Through personal stories of exhaustion, injury, workplace bullying, dangerous understaffing, and quiet moments of profound human connection, Michelle finally gives voice to a perspective healthcare literature has long ignored: the aide's. This is not an outsider's commentary. This is a firsthand account from someone who lived the work physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and who chose to speak after years of silence.Inside these pages, you will find: - The unspoken realities of caregiving that CNAs carry alone, from emotional burnout to being pushed out after workplace injuries- Stories of compassion, humor, and deep humanity that no classroom could ever teach- A powerful call for systemic change in how CNAs are valued, compensated, and protected across the United States