Böcker av James Pace

We're the ones who walk into your house, into your emergency, into your life that will never be the same. When we walk out, we're never quite the same either. In this debut collection of essays, Pace tells of his years as a career paramedic-wandering through the highs and the lows, the saves and the losses, the patients he remembers, and the ones he tries to forget. In 1997, Pace began his career as an EMT because he wanted to do something exciting. He wanted to help people too. And he thought those two things-excitement and helping people-would exist hand in hand. With a little sprinkle of glory thrown in for good measure. Twenty-three years and thousands of calls later-as an EMT, then paramedic, working in a helicopter and on the ground-he still hasn't stumbled onto any glory, and he's tired of the excitement. But some nights, even now, he finds scraps of humanity-beautiful pieces in the broken-up mosaic of the world.

West Seneca's history as a working community can be seen in its humble Native American cabins, sturdy Ebenezer Society buildings, simple farms, hardscrabble shops, and blue-collar housing tracts. In the 1700s, the Seneca Indians became the most dominant tribe when the town was part of the Buffalo Creek Reservation. In the 1840s, the arrival of the Ebenezer religious community from Germany continued the area's mostly agricultural development, and they formally incorporated the town in 1851. Their departure in the 1860s led to the arrival of more immigrants, primarily farmers, laborers, and shopkeepers. The next 100 years in West Seneca saw its development continue. In the 1950s, a further influx of new residents looking for affordable homes in a suburban setting led to the town's rapid growth as a mecca for working people.