Year of the Nurse: A 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic Memoir
Submision Type
book
Logline
Year of the Nurse: A Covid-19 Pandemic Memoir is Cassandra Alexander's poignant effort to come to grips with suicidal ideation and PTSD after being a covid nurse in an ICU in 2020.
Genre
Memoir,Biographical
Short Summary
The irony of me feeling suicidal at work, where I was supposed to be keeping people alive, right before I had my breakdown and was diagnosed with PTSD from being a covid RN.
Setting
Bay Area ICU
Based on a True Story
Yes
Plot - Premise
Voyage and Return
Plot - Other Elements
Philosophical Questions
Mature Audience Themes
Language/Profanity
Main Character Details
Name: Cassie Alexander
Age: 45 (because she's me. Could be anyone from 25-45 though.)
Gender: Female
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Decisive,Blunt,Selfless,Outspoken,Skillful,Funny,Empathetic,Desperate,Confident,Complex,Aggressive,Badass,Adventurous,Sarcastic,Strong Moral Code,Unapologetic,Lone Wolf,Leader,Honorable,Educated,Heroic,Naive,Underdog
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Genre
DRAMA
Brief
A nurse describes her routine during the Covid pandemic, from her tasks as a nurse to her more personal life that was somehow affected by the pandemic. She even shows the tweets she exchanged at the time and how she handled the government’s sometimes misguided orders and anti-vaccination citizens.
Overall Rating
GOOD
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: FAIR
Characterization: GOOD
Commerciality: FAIR
Franchise Potential: FAIR
Pace: FAIR
Premise: FAIR
Structure: FAIR
Theme:
Accuracy of Book Profile
It is accurate.
Draw of Story
It’s an honest diary of a nurse who saw the devastating force of Covid up close. As it is the health professional’s report, the narrative brings details unknown to the general public, which sounds curious, at least.
Possible Drawbacks
Yes, because it is a long report that works more as a description of events than, in fact, as a narrative construction in itself. Not that the narratives are not attractive, but by repeating the same descriptive form throughout the book, reading becomes a little challenging.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
After two years of a pandemic, the hook is to know the exhausting day-to-day of health professionals.
Fanbase Potential
Not a broad audience, because many people try to avoid the topic after two years of a pandemic, but it could attract curious people about a nurse’s day-to-day in times of a global pandemic.
Awards Potential
It depends on how the narrative construction is going to be conducted. Using the book as source material for an essay on healthcare workers in times of a pandemic could increase the odds of awards at this present time.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
MOROCCO, LOVE IN TIMES OF WAR: A GROUP OF NURSES CARES FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS OF WAR. THOSE PEOPLE START TO OCCUPY THEIR LIVES ENTIRELY. CONTAGION: AN EPIDEMIC SPREADS ACROSS THE PLANET, AND DOCTORS NEED TO IDENTIFY THE VIRUS IN ORDER TO STOP IT AND CALM THE POPULATION.
What’s New About the Story
It is original because it is a personal account and quite complete from the perspective of health professionals; however, the way the story is told could be improved so that, in addition to informing, the audience would also be touched by the way the story is told.
Lead Characters
Cassandra is an excellent real-life character in this challenging and traumatic environment. She gives us a raw and candid account of her personal problems and her daily life during the pandemic. She is a strong woman who plays a vital role in the book and real life.
Uniqueness of Story
It’s rare gem as content, not as narrative structure. It would take extensive adaptation work so that the source material could serve a fictional work.
Possible Formats
TV Series: Limited Run / Mini-Series, Unscripted
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
It is a work in progress because it has an immensity of content to work with, but it will also require extensive work to adapt.
Tips for Improvement
Despite having a structure divided by months, in the form of a diary, so that the reader can understand the chronology of the pandemic and the growing exhaustion in which health professionals find themselves, it would be interesting to see a looser narrative, more interconnected by facts and actions that move the story forward. As much as the author recounts traumatic situations of her day, the language ends up not touching as the theme has the potential to. A change in the tone of the narrative could improve this. If the adaptation moves into a fictional product, it would be nice to engage more in the presentation of the protagonist rather than the pandemic itself. The pandemic should work just as a background. It would be nice to see how the pandemic impacts her more than patients and other people around her. If the adaptation is aimed at a documentary, the book would serve as a powerful source material with a lot of solid content. But it would be interesting to include other characters to open up the narrative a little and focus on nurses in general, rather than a single character. As we are still experiencing the pandemic somehow, it might be more interesting to wait a while before adapting so that the public can briefly distance themselves from the pandemic to get interested in it again.