Unspoken

In this powerful spoken word poetry episode, Kate Earley shares Witness — a raw, haunting poem about witnessing a fatal accident as a nurse and first responder. This episode explores the visceral reality of trauma, the silence that follows tragedy, and the sacred burden of being the one who stayed. For listeners drawn to poetry about grief, PTSD, caregiving, and the enduring impact of real-life ev...

In this compelling spoken-word poem, a pediatric ICU nurse practitioner explores her personal experience with moral injury in healthcare, vividly recounting her struggle within a prestigious big-city hospital—the so-called “best in the world.” She courageously confronts the conflict between institutional expectations and her ethical convictions, exposing how healthcare systems can compromise compa...

For years, I sat in silence—words trapped inside me like blood pooling in the pericardium, suffocating my heart. Therapy felt like flatlining in a chair, my memories fragmented, my pain without language. Until one night, I wrote. And the words spilled out like an emergency sternotomy—splitting me open, releasing the pressure, letting my heart beat freely for the first time. In this spoken word poe...

In this powerful episode, we dive into the emotional complexities of a nurse’s journey, as captured through the poem Life Support. This heartfelt piece explores the deep impact of trauma on healthcare professionals, reflecting on the weight of loss, emotional exhaustion, and the unyielding drive to heal despite overwhelming challenges. The poem delves into the nuances of carrying the grief of pati...

In this heartfelt episode, we explore “Guiding Light,” a poignant poem that delves into the challenges of nurse bullying and the transformative power of mentorship. Through vivid imagery and emotional depth, the poem narrates the journey of a new nurse facing workplace adversity, highlighting how a mentor’s unwavering support can illuminate the path to resilience and professional growth. Join us a...

In this powerful episode of Unspoken, we explore the heartbreaking ritual of creating memory boxes for children who have passed away in the intensive care unit. Crafted by caring hands, these wooden boxes hold footprints, hand molds, locks of hair, and heart tracings—tangible echoes of lives cut too short. But what happens when there aren’t enough memories to fill the box? Or when no box is made a...

In this powerful episode of Unspoken, experience the hauntingly beautiful poem, The Boy in the Snow. Through vivid imagery and raw emotion, this narrative unravels the story of a boy left battered and broken, his body a testament to unspoken cruelty. From the perspective of a caregiver, the poem explores the pain of witnessing his suffering, the longing to protect him, and the haunting memory that...

The first time I went to the morgue, I was 21. Still young enough to believe that love could keep a baby alive. In this episode, I share a deeply personal poem about the first death that broke me—a shaken baby, taken too soon, placed in my arms one last time before the cold took him for good. This is a story of grief, helplessness, and the unbearable weight of carrying a child into a place meant f...

What happens when the very thing that makes you a good nurse, your empathy, your devotion, your grief gets pathologized? In this episode, I share A Nurses Lament, a raw reflection on the emotional weight of nursing, the impossible expectations placed on healthcare workers, and the quiet suffering that comes with truly caring. When did integrity become a disorder? When did compassion become a liabi...

Discover the emotional burden of nursing and medicine in Season 1: The Weight We Carry from the Unspoken podcast. This season uses raw, unfiltered spoken word poetry to explore the deep impact of vicarious trauma, grief, and loss experienced by healthcare workers. Through powerful storytelling, we delve into the unseen challenges of caring deeply, bearing witness to suffering, and carrying the wei...