Navigating Life’s Rough Waters: An Inspiring Interview with Author and Nurse Lori Lewicki on Healing, Hope, and Resilience

Growing up as the daughter of a Vietnam vet, Lori Lewicki, a nurse, mother, and author, faced life's challenges head-on—becoming a mom fresh out of high school, enduring the pain of divorce, and battling disease. Yet, through it all, she found hope, love, and a way to heal herself while guiding others toward their own healing. In her memoir, Surviving Shit Creek: One Nurse’s Story of Breakdowns, Breakthroughs, and Transformation, Lori shares her deeply personal journey, offering a beacon of light for those navigating their own rough waters. 

In an interview with PVM Magazine, Lori opens up about the struggles nurses face, the importance of self-healing, and why her story resonates with so many who give endlessly to others while often forgetting themselves.

RELATED: Fueling Purpose and Passion: A Conversation with Precious Monèt on Empowerment, Healing, and Sisterhood

Growing up as the daughter of a Vietnam vet must have influenced your life in unique ways. How did your early experiences shape your path and your eventual decision to become a nurse?

I believe that every nurse has a story about why they chose this career. Mine started when my dad, a Vietnam vet, was in his first motorcycle accident. The doctor told us he had a 50/50 chance of making it through the night. I was so scared he wouldn’t make it, but the trauma ICU nurses saved my dad. Watching how compassionate and caring they were made me decide to go to nursing school. From that moment, I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wrote more about this in my book.

Your memoir Surviving Shit Creek details your journey through significant personal challenges like divorce, disease, and despair. What motivated you to share these deeply personal experiences with the world?

Two things were my motivation to share my life publicly. The first was to inspire other burned-out nurses to heal, and the second was for my own healing. Holding onto shame and letting those feelings fester inside of us wears us down emotionally. Then, after years of feeling guilty for our mistakes, we start noticing it physically, sometimes with just aches and pains or stomach issues, but sometimes with bigger problems.

Writing this book allowed me to shine a light on the time of my life when I wasn’t a good mother or a good wife, exposing my shame so I could release it. Being free of that weight is helping me to be the best version of myself, the one I always knew I was destined to be. 

Many people face challenges similar to yours, but not everyone turns them into a memoir. What was the turning point when you realized your story needed to be told?

I had been working with a life coach, Sophia Molnar, and I would always tell her that when I got quiet and tried to meditate and listen to my intuition, I would hear a small voice say, “Write your book.” I was scared, though. I was very intimidated. Then one day, she had an astrologer, Sarah, read my birth chart. She said, “What do you mean you haven't written your book? That’s what your whole purpose is tied to!” 

So I booked a call with Cori Wamsley, my writing coach and publisher, and we talked about my story. She said, “Your book is going to be someone else’s survival guide,” and that was the line in the sand for me. As a nurse, I always do things for other people, but this was what I needed to do for both others and me.

Nursing is often seen as a profession of selfless giving. How did you manage the emotional and physical demands of being a nurse while also navigating your own personal struggles?

Wow, I'm not sure if I can answer this in just a few sentences because that is literally my entire book! It was extremely hard. I guess the short answer is that I didn’t manage. That’s why I ended up drinking too much. That’s why I didn’t do so well in the early part of my career. I didn’t have a mentor to help me navigate any of it, and I really needed someone to help me. 

I’m glad that I eventually realized I had to do something or things would keep getting worse. When I was really sick and in the middle of a divorce that I caused—yes, the stress got me into this mess—I started listening to audiobooks and journaling, trying to pull myself back out of the “dumpster fire” that I had gotten into. That was just the beginning, but it helped turn things around.

You describe yourself as the “Lighthouse Nurse,” guiding others through difficult times. Can you share more about this?

I love teaching, and I want to help new nurses or nurses who are just feeling burned out by guiding them to self-care and self-love because it not only helps that nurse but all the other nurses and patients they work with. When you care about yourself, you’re kinder and more understanding. When I was a new nurse, I was treated so badly by the older nurses. I used to cry every shift because they made fun of me for my charting or for not knowing things that there was no way I could know. 

They made me feel like I didn’t belong. It was horrible. It made me want to quit, but instead of quitting, I used that fuel to study for my CRN and become a certified critical care nurse early in my career. I promised myself that I would never make a new nurse feel stupid for asking a question, and now I give out my website and phone number to every nursing student I meet and encourage them to call or text me with any questions, anytime. In fact, I still have a really good relationship with students I taught a few years ago. I take my role as a nursing mentor very seriously, and I do not ever want a nurse to feel as if he or she doesn’t belong. 

What are some of the biggest challenges nurses face today that you believe need more attention and understanding from the public? 

To start off, nurses are undervalued and always short-staffed. That needs to change, but what I want the public to realize is that the level of abuse we are expected to just endure is too much. In no other business would employees be expected to get hit, punched, kicked, smacked, or spit on and not have the company do anything in response. Some hospitals are better than others when it comes to protecting their employees. 

Where I currently work, we have police in the hospital who can respond to incidents immediately. But even when the hospitals are doing all that they can to protect the nurses, people get away with this behavior over and over again without repercussions. Yes, some people are habitual offenders. Because it’s a hospital, you can’t tell them not to come in when they’re sick, but even patients should be held to a standard. 

It’s sad that they’re allowed to literally beat up nurses and not have any consequences. One of my friends currently has a broken bone from being attacked at work, and that should not happen. If somebody were to walk into an office building, tackle someone, and break their arm, they would be held responsible for that. But you’re allowed to punch a nurse, and nobody even bats an eye. It’s absolutely insane to me to let somebody abuse a person who is at work to help others in their moment of need. 

Your memoir speaks to the hope that guides us through life’s rough waters. Can you share a moment from your journey when hope played a crucial role in your healing process?

Hope was the only thing that got me through. A few times, the hope that things would get better was what helped me get out of bed each day when I was told my brain injury was too severe for me to work as an ICU nurse. Hope was there for me when I was diagnosed with cancer, when I was losing my home, and when I had nowhere to live. 

Lastly, when my mom had her heart attack, succumbed to the illness, and died days later, believing that everything happens for a reason—but that I may never find out that reason—got me through. I had to trust that God had my back no matter what. 

You talk about breakdowns, breakthroughs, and transformation. How do these themes play out in your book, and how can readers relate to them in their own lives?

I have been through so many different types of major life events, which is why I believe that most people can relate to something that I went through. I experienced divorce as the first person in my family to get a divorce, along with all of the issues that come with that. Losing my job, being in a car accident that wasn’t my fault, cheating in a relationship, being diagnosed with cancer, and the surgeries that had to follow. The worst, though, was losing my mom. My life was turned upside down.

In my book, I talk about all of these things, but I also talk about how I have been able to turn my mess of a life into a message of hope for others because of my faith in God and because of the healing process of my mind, body, and spirit.

For many readers, your story will be both inspiring and relatable. What do you hope readers will take away from your memoir?

I hope readers will take away a message of love and healing so they will see that they are not alone in feeling alone. I also want to encourage them to get help—get a coach, get a friend, read a book, whatever—to take action to heal. Just start this amazing journey.

For those in the nursing profession who may be struggling with similar challenges, what words of wisdom can you offer to help them navigate their own shit creek?

First, understand that you are not alone, and second, start somewhere. Find a mentor, hire a coach, or read one of the books I’ve listed in the back of my book. I spent years just doing self-improvement, healing, reading, and learning, so don’t expect change overnight. Most nurses have access to an employee assistance program through their company, so reach out to them. 

Also, I run a nurse coaching business, so nurses are always welcome to reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram. I’m The Lighthouse Nurse on both. Or they can contact me through my website, www.lorilewicki.com. I’m more than willing to be there for others.

Now that your memoir is being released, what are your next steps? Do you have plans for future writing or other projects?

I’ve been focusing on getting my name out there as a coach so I can help nurses live better lives. I wrote my book to inspire nurses to live happily, and providing coaching for them is part of that. I am part of a new book coming out in 2025 called Steps to Success, too. My chapter is about why I authored my own book. I started writing my next book already, about healing my inner child, and childhood trauma, and I’m starting a podcast about issues in nursing.  

Outside of my nursing focus, my family is starting a YouTube channel called “Dinner at the Circus” because when my now-husband Bob and I started dating. I always told him I was the ringleader of a three-ring circus, one ring for each of my kids. Between band practice, baseball games, football games, band camp, and whatever else, we were always running around. 

Now, that my dad has dementia and is living with Bob and myself, plus our son, who is now three years old and full of attitude, dinner at our table is comedy relief. Some of the things that come out of people’s mouths when you share a home are just so funny, so we figured why not? Life is too short and people are so serious that we’ve learned that you have to be able to laugh at yourself.

If there’s one message you want readers to remember after reading Surviving Shit Creek, what would it be?

I want people to remember that no matter what you are going through, you are so loved. I want my readers to feel empowered to change the world that they live in for the better. My motto has always been after Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I have always been a change agent everywhere I work. I get involved in different committees and try to make improvements. 

At multiple places, I’ve helped change charting so nurses have an easier time describing what they do with a patient. I’ve helped hospitals save money by changing how they look at the way it is running. I’ve always been about improvement. Now I'm starting to focus more on self-improvement, and I want other nurses to know that it’s ok to do that too.