Victory through Faith, Friends & Determination
A nurse shows how faith in God helped her endure workplace abuse.
In Victory Through Faith, Friends & Determination, Noah Lee provides her account of intimidating and bullying behavior she endured from her manager as a nurse in a Canadian hospital. She cites numerous stories of unfair and abusive words and actions that created a volatile environment that affected her emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
From the moment she was assigned to her new manager, Lee realized that her work life was about to become extremely difficult, and her first impressions proved to be correct. “She made my life a living hell. If I had had some sort of latent mental illness, the treatment meted out to me by this manager would have certainly brought it to the fore.”
Despite her best efforts and intentions, Lee seemingly could not please her manager, who accused her of improper patient care, working unnecessary overtime, and violating departmental policies. Even when Lee asked to attend a continuing education course, her manager bluntly denied her request. Lee became convinced that her manager intentionally took every opportunity to belittle, upset, or antagonize her.
While the manager’s behavior as related by Lee certainly cannot be condoned or defended, management was not the only area of confrontation or disappointment for Lee. She also points out faults of her fellow nurses. For example, while working under heavy medication one day, none of her coworkers approached her about her condition. “Isn’t it sad that I was on duty behaving like a drunken person, and not one of my colleagues said anything to me?”
Lee undoubtedly was treated improperly on many occasions by her manager. Other nurses also failed to support or assist her, and some patients were indeed uncooperative and unruly. In many of the scenes that she describes, however, she takes little, if any, accountability for the way she handled the situation, diminishing the impact of the encounter. But her frustration and stress are quite evident and understandable, emphasizing her feelings of helplessness in dealing with such abuse.
Lee’s accounts of her treatment reveal aspects of harassment, bullying, and inappropriate actions that no employee should have to endure. Her willingness to expose such behavior and to share her attempts to stand up against it are highly commendable and effective. Her conversational and candid writing style help reinforce her sincerity and passion to encourage others who face similar struggles. Lee’s deep faith in God was her strength throughout her ordeal, and she explains how various scriptures sustained her, especially in the most difficult times.
Victory Through Faith, Friends & Determination gives insights into the darker side of the workplace that many people would prefer not to acknowledge. Lee’s passionate and compelling story gives hope and encouragement to anyone dealing with such devastating behavior.
Reviewed by
Jeff Friend
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
