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We got home from vacation and I came down with mild cold symptoms so it was a good excuse to stay curled up with a book. Therefore I finished My Name Is Mary Sutter quicker than I normally would have. This novel is set during the Civil War and is about a young woman who has aspirations to be a surgeon at a time that women were not welcome in medical schools. She is able to utilize the great need of medical personal during the war to obtain experience and achieve her goals. She starts in housekeeping at the worst facility in Washington DC and works her way up from there. The book really explains the horrible conditions soldiers had to endure at the onset of the war when they needed medical care and highlights some progress that was made. Much of the progress in medical facilities and care occurred after the war was over as a result of the need the Civil War exposed. Things were really dirty because germs had not been discovered. Soldiers were drinking out of the same water sources they went to the bathroom and bathed in. Disease killed more of them than bullets or cannon balls did. Robin Oliveira did a lot of detailed research in writing this book. Besides battles and disease there is family dynamics and romance. The character of Mary Sutter is a very determined and strong willed woman. The book held my interest and I highly recommend it. Please watch the video that follows and click on the links above for more information.
