Arts & Entertainment

A journey of grief

Nurse shares her life story of searching and caring for others

Published

15 years ago

August 4, 2011

Terri Schlichenmeyer

‘Beautiful Unbroken: One Nurse’s Life’
by Mary Jane Nealon
Graywolf Press
$15
224 pages

(Image courtesy of Graywolf)

Wanderlust can strike any time, but what if the journey doesn’t satisfy the way you hope it will? In the new book “Beautiful Unbroken: One Nurse’s Life” by Mary Jane Nealon, you’ll read about a woman’s lifelong trip.

As a child, Mary Jane Nealon decided that she wanted to be a saint.

Her Jersey City childhood was spent poring over books about Molly Pitcher, Clara Barton and Kateri Tekekwitha. Nealon wanted to be like them, to “save somebody.” So when her father offered to pay for nursing school after graduation, she saw her chance to be a heroine.

Nealon enjoyed “doing small things for the body” and nursing was a good fit for her so later, antsy to leave Jersey City, she took a job in Charlottesville, Va. She loved caring for stroke patients and life was good, but she was back home 10 months later. Her younger brother fell sick and there was no other place she could be.

His death had a profound effect on her life. She couldn’t escape the guilt.

Still, she tried: she investigated volunteer work in Cambodia, but she got scared. Instead, she traveled to Hawaii to work and study with an antiwar poet, then she signed up to be a traveling nurse for hospitals in northern New Mexico and Savannah, Ga. She considered Florida. She considered falling in love. She considered marriage.

But home kept calling and Nealon kept returning, grief for her brother keener every time. With each new death and into each new job, she carried with her the figurative bodies she’d cared for: too-young boys with cancer, skeletal men with purple lesions and bright eyes, women with AIDS, alcoholics, Bowery residents.

She carried them because those people, achingly in and out of Nealon’s life and gone, helped her deal with the greatest loss of all.

Occasionally books are so compelling, one can bear neither to finish them nor put them down. “Beautiful Unbroken” is one of those books.

In author Mary Jane Nealon’s hands, loss is grace and there’s an awful elegance in illness. Not only does Nealon grab your heart and wring it out completely with words, she has a way with metaphors that will make you chuckle as she slams them into your gut. There’s a satisfying pain to reading this book, but continuing becomes a necessary endeavor once one starts.

“No one understood that I was a poet when I sat with the dying men,” writes Nealon in describing her dual life as AIDS caretaker and writer. But when you read this outstanding book, you’ll understand that clearly. Indeed, “Beautiful Unbroken” packs a wallop.

Related Topics:Beautiful Unbroken Mary Jane Nealon

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Published

16 hours ago

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Michael Key

A dance party was held at Union Stage before Cupid's Undie Run on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Out & About

Sweat DC expands to Shaw

Community workout and social planned for March 14

Published

17 hours ago

February 21, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Sweat DC is officially expanding to Shaw, opening a new location at 1818 7th St., N.W., on Saturday, March 28 — and they’re kicking things off with a high-energy, community-first launch event.

To celebrate, Sweat DC is hosting Sweat Fest, a free community workout and social on Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m. at the historic Howard Theatre. The event features a group fitness class, live DJ, local food and wellness partners, and a mission-driven partnership with the Open Goal Project, which works to expand access to youth soccer for players from marginalized communities.

For more details, visit Sweat DC’s website and reserve a spot on Eventbrite.

Calendar

Calendar: February 20-26

LGBTQ events in the days to come

Published

2 days ago

February 20, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Friday, Feb. 20

Center Aging Monthly Luncheon with Yoga will be at noon at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center. Email Mac at [email protected] if you require ASL interpreter assistance, have any dietary restrictions, or questions about this event.

Trans and Genderqueer Game Night will be at 7 p.m. at the D.C. Center. This will be a relaxing, laid-back evening of games and fun. All are welcome! We’ll have card and board games on hand. Feel free to bring your own games to share. For more details, visit the Center’s website.

Go Gay DC will host “First Friday LGBTQ+ Community Social” at 7 p.m. at Hotel Zena. This is a chance to relax, make new friends, and enjoy happy hour specials at this classic retro venue. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Saturday, Feb. 21

Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

LGBTQ People of Color will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgement free. There are all sorts of activities like watching movies, poetry events, storytelling, and just hanging out with others. For more information and events, visit thedccenter.org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc.

Sunday, Feb. 22

Queer Talk DC will host “The Black Gay Flea Market” at 1 p.m. at Doubles in Petworth. There will be more than 15 Black queer vendors from all over the DMV in one spot. The event’s organizers have reserved the large back patio for all vendors, and the speak easy for bar service, which will be serving curated cocktails made just for the event (cash bar.) DJ Fay and DJ Jam 2x will be spinning the entire event. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

Monday, Feb. 23

“Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more information, contact Adam at [email protected].

Tuesday, Feb. 24

Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so — by sharing struggles and victories the group allows those newly coming out and who have been out for a while to learn from others. For more details, visit the group’s Facebook.

Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100 percent cis. For more details, visit genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.

Wednesday, Feb. 25

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.

Asexual and Aromantic Group will meet at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a space where people who are questioning this aspect of their identity or those who identify as asexual and/or aromantic can come together, share stories and experiences, and discuss various topics. For more details, email [email protected].

Thursday, Feb. 26

The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center. To be more fair with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.

Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breathwork and meditation that allows LGBTQ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.