Velvet's Touch

After twenty years of caring for people, Velvet is tired; tired of not having a life and working too many hours. Tired of living in the cold of the Midwest. Tired especially of February, of living in the same town in which she was raised, where she abandoned her parents, where her brother died. She has devoted everything to her patients, to the last days of their lives as their hospice nurse, but it has left her feeling numb. What does she do it for? She knew in the beginning but after her latest admission, a man in his fifties with a past that haunts him, she is no longer sure. It isn't the fact that he has AIDS that has her questioning her profession; it isn't the fact that he’s an ex-priest that has brought her to the point of exhaustion. It is the fact that he is non-compliant and doesn't want her in his life that has her questioning her choices. How can she help this man face some of the same demons that have touched her own life? How can she help him reconcile his existence and face his own mortality when he doesn't even want her in his home? Velvet, the hospice nurse, it is enough anymore?

After twenty years of caring for people, Velvet is tired; tired of not having a life and working too many hours. Tired of living in the cold of the Midwest. Tired especially of February, of living in the same town in which she was raised, where she abandoned her parents, where her brother died. She has devoted everything to her patients, to the last days of their lives as their hospice nurse, but it has left her feeling numb. What does she do it for? She knew in the beginning but after her latest admission, a man in his fifties with a past that haunts him, she is no longer sure. It isn't the fact that he has AIDS that has her questioning her profession; it isn't the fact that he’s an ex-priest that has brought her to the point of exhaustion. It is the fact that he is non-compliant and doesn't want her in his life that has her questioning her choices. How can she help this man face some of the same demons that have touched her own life? How can she help him reconcile his existence and face his own mortality when he doesn't even want her in his home? Velvet, the hospice nurse, it is enough anymore?

Kat Bert is a native Southern California writer. She received her inspiration for this novel through years of experience working in hospice. Professionally, she has published non-fiction works about Hospice. Fictionalizing this book was a natural progression as she has written several books and short stories about the human condition. Besides writing, Kat's interests lay in gardening, reading fiction, and taking care of her multiple animals. Kat enjoys the love of a good husband and four children.