December 7, 2022
First Novel by Barre Author Pays Tribute to Home Health Care Workers
Many of us have a Lorraine in our lives. For me, she was the home health care aide who worked in our home during the last weeks of my father’s life. The valiant and splendidly tattooed Lorraine navigated our family’s complicated, stressful, and messy world with grace, skill, and humor.
I know there are many Lorraines in many homes — and so does Barre author J. Peter Cobb, whose first novel “To Alice” (TouchPoint Press, Jan. 11, 2022) takes us into the world of a Vermont home health care worker who struggles with caring too much.
All About the Arts
Looking for a summer read? Sandra Stillman Gartner of Rutland Magazine‘s features Peter Cobb’s debut novel To Alice in their summer edition.
“I don’t do an outline for my writing,” Cobb said. “Instead, I write from chapter-to-chapter and soon the characters direct me where I need to go and show their own voices.”
Novelist makes care-giving its own story
Interview with the author, Rutland native and now Barre Town resident Peter Cobb, on his debut novel, To Alice. has written a novel.”
Interview with the author, Rutland native and now Barre Town The COVID 19 pandemic has been difficult for everyone. If there is any upside it is the fact that the definition of “essential” workers has changed. The value of nursing and aide care is recognized as essential now more than ever. That said, much of the praise in health care has been for hospital workers. Home health staff deserve equal honors.
Nod to Caregivers: Cobb debut novel out Jan. 1
Editor’s note: Peter Cobb is a regular contributor to The Times Argus and Rutland Herald
At what point does a caregiver cross the boundary between providing professional, compassionate care to getting too involved with her patients’ lives? That question is at the heart of the new novel, “To Alice” by first-time novelist J. Peter Cobb of Barre Town, and formerly of Rutland.
Central Vermont Reader.
A novel is about the dignity and grace of simple care.
The boundary between providing compassionate care and getting too involved with a patient is often blurred, especially for home care and hospice aides who work with their patients week after week for months, sometimes for years,” Cobb said. “Obviously, the vast majority stay on the right side of the line but that’s not always easy. Some days the home care aide is the only person her patient sees for the day, no one else.”
Books in Brief
New Archer Mayor mystery and more — local authors in the news
One story line is loosely based on a homecare, home visit Cobb attended with a physical therapist in downtown Brattleboro in 1984 that has stuck with me for over 35 years. At the time, he was taking pictures for the agency.
“To Alice” is set to release Jan. 12, 2022, through TouchPoint Press of Brookland, Ark.
J. Peter Cobb’s Debut Novel Celebrates the Heroism of Everyday Care
Cobb’s “To Alice” speaks to the tribulations faced by caregivers as they navigate an increasingly personal practice
BARRE, Vt. – Sept. 28, 2021 – PRLog — At what point does a caregiver become too involved in their patients’ lives? That question stands at the heart of “To Alice”, the debut novel by J. Peter Cobb set to release January 12, 2022 through TouchPoint Press of Brookland, Arkansas. As COVID cases in the United States continue to rise, “To Alice” speaks towards a group facing greater responsibility and financial strain in their efforts to uphold societal health: home health and hospice caregivers.
