Josie's Story
Published by Grove Atlantic
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).
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).
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