Consider this: What if you had to decide if an elderly woman should or shouldn’t take a chemo pill, extending or curtailing her remaining years? What if you were faced with filing criminal charges against someone's family member? What if you had to contend with harassment and personal threats to protect another’s mental well-being? Denise M. Valerio takes you on a spin through her care management milieu introducing three extraordinary souls: “The Broken Dish,” “The Proper New Englander,” and “The Gentle Soul.” The Stemwinder is a portrait of Valerio’s professional experiences told in raw and emotional context. Laced with sexual abuse, depression, caregiver overwhelm, domestic violence, and degenerative brain disorders, each account offers an intimate view of the care management profession. Most prominently, each story is demonstrative of amity, compassion, and unvarnished love. Collectively, they are breathtaking expressions of the human condition. Reliving selected memories from her own past, a wider picture comes to life revealing an exquisite interconnection that binds the tapestry of her life.