I'm a life long first responder. I worked as a full-time paramedic for seven years, while volunteering as a firefighter. I then went on to work as a police sergeant, retiring after 23 years. During that time, I also trained the dispatchers in my department, sometimes subbing as a dispatcher. I am now a mental health counselor for a suicide hotline and a mobile mental health crisis team. Along the way, I became licensed as a registered nurse and has a Master's in Forensic Psychology and Terrorism. 

I understand the unique stressors inherent in the world of emergency services and continue to see the toll it takes on workers. I spent years studying the effects of stress and how to deal with it. This is why I wrote 911 For First Responders, a manual on how to make it through your career with your sanity intact. This book was developed to help first responders not only survive The Job, but to thrive while in it and beyond into retirement. It is packed with information and practical ideas to counter the stress most first responders feel daily. 

I sometimes takes my own advice and enjoy hiking, training with a search and rescue team, traveling internationally and riding horses. Like most emergency workers, I have many stories to tell. Most are hilarious...but those are for the next book.

Annmarie Spiciarich