Based on her experience in the hospital,
Jahren decided to write her English term paper on “The Use and Meaning of ‘Heart’ Within
David Copperfield.” She would memorize passages from the novel during the day, allow her subconscious to work through their meaning as she walked medications around the hospital, and then go home after her shift and write her paper. This routine changed, however, when she was trained to “shoot bags,” or fill the intravenous bags with exactly the right amount and combination of mediation for the specified patient. She found value in this work, recognizing that this medication might hold off the progress of a tumor or give a patient just enough relief from their pain; this slowly turned into disenchantment, however, and when she received an offer to work in a research
lab instead, she jumped at the chance.