We don't ordinarily describe nurses as guides, but their presence, beyond all the tasks usually ascribed to them, unquestionably functions that way. When going into a jungle of unknowns, having a guide who knows the way and to recognize the shape of unexpected happenings makes all the difference. Anneliese was the answer to my silent appeal. Even as we worked through the usual intake process, it grew clear that Anneliese regards patients as partners.