While the underperformance of my writing, is often daunting and disappointing – it does offer several real advantages (to both myself, and my modest audience.)

1.  The unvarnished truth –as an unknown writer, I get access to, and write about the ‘unvarnished’ truth.   Since I’m not a household name, or a bestseller – most of the people I interviewed didn’t bother to hide anything (including unsafe practices in several instances.)

Also, since I’m not Dr. Oz, or Oprah – I could go ahead and write exactly what I saw.. (Good/ bad/ ugly/ whatever.)

Afterall – there was no big publishing house to protect from legal action, and very little incentive for people to sue.

    Sure, I saw some appalling practices, and sure,  I wrote about them in full and devastating detail – giving full names, dates, locations etc but none of the affected facilities or physicians will sue..)    Why would they?  For starters – everything I wrote was the truth – and secondly (more importantly to these individuals)  – few people are buying/ reading these books – so why bring attention to it??

Of course, for the most part – I saw excellent physicians, in outstanding facilities providing patient’s with outstanding and high-quality care – but not always.  And it’s the ‘not always’ that people should be read about..  But – if I became Dr. Oz or some other big name writer – that would be the first thing that would get lost..

I wouldn’t be some nameless, faceless nurse watching from the sidelines.  People wouldn’t let me observe at will – things would be staged, and artificial – and the authenticity of my writing would be lost.. (Just like the authenticity of Joint Commission inspections that are announced a year in advance.)

So in many ways – while my lack of commercial success can be frustrating (since I rely on my own funds to travel and perform research) – it’s this very lack of success that gives me the opportunity to give readers the real information they need and want.

So thank you, for not buying my book.