Tree Barking: A Memoir

Nesta Rovina

“Working in home health…is somewhat like looking at snapshots of a person’s life.”

As a home health therapist, Nesta Rovina has seen and heard it all: a stroke victim who learned to roll off her bed at night to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of rival gangs and drug dealers; a man who lived off grass and bugs for a week while fleeing his native Laos; a sixteen-year-old gunshot victim who was left for dead by a man targeting prostitutes; a heroin addict who—when her left hand was amputated after becoming infected from frequent injections—began "popping" on her right hand.

In telling their stories, Rovina's own story begins to emerge: her upbringing in South Africa, her family tragedy in Israel, her decision to become a health-care worker. Confronting America's bruised and battered health-care system, she shows compassion and understanding for all her housebound clients who—no matter their circumstances—carry on with faith, humor, and kindness.

Reviews

"Not many home health-care therapists have written about their experiences--fewer still with such care, reflection, and skill. Highly recommended for general library collections."—Library Journal

"Compelling reading for those concerned about the health-care industry."—Booklist

"In her funny-sad memoir Tree Barking, Rovina sensitively recounts years spent visiting people at their most sensitive, vulnerable honest moments."—East Bay Express

About the Author

Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nesta Rovina received a degree from Rhodes University in Grahamstown. She lived in Israel for eleven years, eight of them in Kibbutz Ein Dor. She received her degree in occupational therapy in Jerusalem and has lived and worked in the Bay Area since 1980. She has an MA from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda and has had essays published locally and in England.

Visit Nesta's blog at here.