Josie's Story - by Sorrel King (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The "wrenching but inspiring" true story of a tragic medical mistake that turned a grieving mother into a national advocate (The Wall Street Journal).

Sorrel King was a young mother of four when her eighteen-month-old daughter was badly burned by a faulty water heater in the family's new home. Taken to the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital, Josie made a remarkable recovery. But as she was preparing to leave, the hospital's system of communication broke down and Josie was given a fatal shot of methadone, sending her into cardiac arrest. Within forty-eight hours, the King family went from planning a homecoming to planning a funeral.

Dizzy with grief, falling into deep depression, and close to ending her marriage, Sorrel slowly pulled herself and her life back together. Accepting Hopkins' settlement, she and her husband established the Josie King Foundation. They began to implement basic programs in hospitals emphasizing communication between patients, family, and medical staff--programs like Family-Activated Rapid Response Teams, which are now in place in hospitals around the country. Today Sorrel and the work of the foundation have had a tremendous impact on health-care providers, making medical care safer for all of us, and earning Sorrel a well-deserved reputation as one of the leading voices in patient safety.

"I cried . . . I cheered" at this account of one woman's unlikely path from full-time mom to nationally renowned patient advocate (Ann Hood). "Part indictment, part celebration, part catharsis" Josie's Story is the startling, moving, and inspirational chronicle of how a mother--and her unforgettable daughter--are transforming the face of American medicine (Richmond Times-Dispatch).

Review Quotes

"King is an extraordinary woman, who took a paralyzing event--the medical accident that killed her 18-month-old daughter, Josie--and turned it into a national crusade. . . . In this moving, never preachy or strident memoir, she recounts Josie's experience, the evolution of the foundation, and the principles of the so-called Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP) in practice today in hundreds of hospitals, thanks to Josie and her mom." --Donna Chavez, Booklist (starred review)

"This painful but inspiring memoir is a compelling drama of family grief amid the dysfunctional U.S. health care system." --Publishers Weekly

"King excels in capturing small moments freighted with poignancy: her older children refusing to kiss their unconscious sister goodbye before her life support was turned off, her memories of Josie spilling juice (I would lean over and wipe it up, never realizing how lucky I was'). Eschewing literary stylishness, King tells her story with a straightforward style that makes it all the more powerful."--Kirkus Review

"A wonderful book, written with deep insight into the uncertain world of medicine. The tale of this family grips the heart and illuminates the mind." --Dr. Jerome Groopman, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; contributor to the New Yorker; and author of several books, including How Doctors Think

"Wrenching but inspiring . . . King is a passionate advocate for patients." --Laura Landro, The Wall Street Journal, Best Health Books of the Year

"Reading Josie's Story, I cried at Sorrel King's unflinching descriptions of grief and the anguish that comes with losing a child. But when she takes the medical error that killed her daughter Josie and turns her tragedy into a crusade to help avoid such errors from taking someone else's child, I cheered. For the Kings, for Josie, for all of us. Everyone should read this book, not just for what it shows us about the human spirit, but because we all need to hear Josie's story and be better people for having heard it." --Ann Hood, The Knitting Circle

"Sorrel King took the tragic death of her daughter and used it to transform the culture of the nation's top hospital--and ultimately the entire world of medicine. Her unique combination of selflessness, passion and stubborn refusal to accept the status quo was just what the doctor ordered in the face of tens of thousands of deaths from medical mistakes every year." --Dr. Robert Wachter, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and author of Understanding Patient Safety

"What started out as a small endeavor is now a nationally recognized organization dedicated to increasing patient safety and eliminating medical errors . . . King is an outspoken advocate." --Ginger Adams Otis, New York Post

"The book is part indictment, part celebration and part catharsis'King carries a powerful message of an institutional failure that affects hospitals as much as any other institution: communication." --Bill McKelway, Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Josie's Story underscores a reality that we are too often encouraged to forget: doctors and nurses are just human and make mistakes . . . Parents, read Josie's Story." --Maria Andreu, The Star-Ledger (Newark)

"Sorrel King is a heroic figure in the healthcare safety movement. Josie's story and Sorrel's determination are making care safer for millions of patients. At its core, this is a powerful and immensely moving love story." --Charles Kenney, author of The Best Practice: How the New Quality Movement is Transforming Medicine and Quality and Safety Consultant to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

"Through her passion and her pain, Sorrell's story has been successful in transmitting a message of urgency for improving safety. She teaches us that listening is as important as doing, reminding us that our learning is a journey, and that our true teachers sit in front of us in hospital beds and on exam tables each day." --Dr. David Shulkin, President and CEO, Beth Israel Medical Center, and author of Questions Patients Need to Ask

"Sorrel King has single handedly turned a tragedy into a crusade to improve the quality of care delivered in hospitals throughout the country. I am confident that she has saved countless lives by sharing her story and challenging physicians and administrators to critically examine how they provide care. She made a difference for our children's hospital and we are forever grateful." --Craig Cordola, CEO, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital of Houston, TX

"Josie's story has served as a beacon for me and thousands of other healthcare professionals. Fortunately, we were blessed that the love and commitment of her mother and larger family has focused on ensuring the safety of millions of other patients. Their understanding of the intrinsic vulnerabilities of the healthcare system have made us partners in this critical work." --Dr. Louise Liang, former Senior Vice President, Quality and Clinical Systems Support, Kaiser Permanente and Former Chair, IHI Board of Directors

"A riveting and poignant account of the impact of preventable harm in our health care system. It should compel us to wait no longer to transform the places where medical care is provided." --Rosemary Gibson, author of Wall of Silence and Senior Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

About the Author

Sorrel King is a patient-safety advocate and cofounder of the Josie King Foundation, a not-for-profit organization aimed at increasing patient safety and eliminating medical errors. She lives with her husband and their children in Baltimore, Maryland.