“Five-minute. Fitfteen-minutes. Half-hour checks. Some nurses said, “Checks,” when they opened the door. Click, turn the knob, swish, open the door, “Checks,” swish, pull the door shut, turn the knob. Five-minute checks. Not enough time to drink a cup of coffee, read three pages of a book, take a shower.”

“Five-minute. Fitfteen-minutes. Half-hour checks. Some nurses said, “Checks,” when they opened the door. Click, turn the knob, swish, open the door, “Checks,” swish, pull the door shut, turn the knob. Five-minute checks. Not enough time to drink a cup of coffee, read three pages of a book, take a shower.”

— Susanna Kaysen