The Country Nurse Remembers: True Stories of a Troubled Childhood, War, and Becoming a Nurse (The Country Nurse Series, Book Three)

by Mary J. MacLeod

Overview

From the Bestselling Author of Call the Nurse and Nurse, Come You Here!, the Moving Story of Her Young Life and Her Path to Independence through Training to Be a Nurse—"A Must-Read Suggestion for Fans of the BBC's Call the Midwife" (Booklist)

Mary MacLeod's mother died in childbirth when Mary was five, an event that marked for the child a "before time"—a lost joyful time—and after. She was shunted from one relative to another while her father coped with his grief. He married again only nine months later, perhaps to have a mother for his child, but her new mum, harsh and withholding of her love, quickly exerted complete control over her thoughts and deeds, with her father oblivious. Her name was changed to her stepmother's choice of "Julia." Yet the pale, thin, quiet little girl didn't know she was unhappy: things were just the way they were.

Narrating from the perspective of the child she was but with the understanding and empathy of the nurse and mother she became, the author of Call the Nurse recounts the moving, intimate, indelible story of her young life, growing up in rural England near Bath, relishing the good times when her stepmother was friendly or she helped her father in the garden, experiencing the world war—air raids and blackouts, the war effort, evacuees, German prisoners—winning a scholarship, leaving home to train for three years as a nurse, and gradually finding her way as an independent woman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950691296
Publisher:	Arcade
Publication date:	02/11/2020
Series:	The Country Nurse , #3
Pages:	360
Sales rank:	1,135,541
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Mary J. MacLeod qualified as a nurse in England and has lived in Aden (now Yemen), the United States, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia as well as her husband George's native Scotland. This is her second book, and she has written her third. She currently lives in England.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction xv

The 'Before' Time

The Child 3

Mummy 4

The Early Years 6

Grandparents and Aunts 11

Auntie Jinny 14

Great Aunt Louisa and Grandmother 18

Crib 20

Fun, Floods and Peter the Pup 23

The Shire Horses and Crib-Again 28

Understanding 33

The 'After' Time

The Stucco Bungalow 39

Return to Meadow View 47

Aunt Lizzy 50

Daddy and Mildred 53

A New Mother 57

Life at Daddy's Bungalow 61

The Great Flood 65

Changing Times 70

The War Years

War 75

Evacuees 78

Auntie Jinny Again 85

Will I See Again? 90

Wartime Events 94

Hay and Fire 98

The Plane Crash 103

Tig and Trouble 106

Tragedy 116

Things That Go Bump 118

Pigs, Mice and Puzzles 121

Make Do and Mend 127

The Bath Blitz 132

Busy Times at Meadow View 141

Animals 144

Train to Auntie Jinny 151

The War Effort 157

Good Intentions 167

The Great Escape-That Wasn't 170

Prisoners of War 176

A Wartime Birthday 179

Words, Words, Words 182

A New Teacher 185

Mice Galore 188

The Salvage Competition 192

The Scholarship 196

The First Day 200

The Pictures 207

'Peace in Our Time' 212

Growing Up

Great News 219

Robert 225

Last Days of School 227

No Longer 'The Child' 232

Into the Big, Wipe World of Work

The Nurses' Home 235

New Acquaintances 238

The First Working Day 244

Some of the Patients 250

A First 254

A Day Off 256

Moving On 260

The Surgical Ward 263

'The Bloods' 267

Sveto 269

The Toy Car 274

Dancing 276

Learning All the Time 281

Fire and Water 284

The Ball 287

Night Duty 290

'The Window Incident' 292

Duck and Shout 295

A Disappointment 298

Church 302

Swimming 305

Plans 307

Goodbye 309

Better Times 312

Sick Nurses 317

Ham Green 319

Jasper 324

Farewell to Ham Green 327

The Old, Old Wards 329

God's Blessing 331

Time Rolls By 333

A State-Registered Nurse 337

Editorial Reviews

"MacLeod's latest is a must-read suggestion for fans of the BBC's Call the Midwife. . . . Her charming and matter-of-fact style is quickly engaging and may cause a feeling of fond nostalgia in readers, even for a time and place they have not themselves experienced."—Booklist

"An inherently fascinating, impressively candid, engagingly presented, and deeply personal memoir . . . An especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community library Contemporary Biography collections."—Midwest Book Review

"Mary J. MacLeod’s reminiscences of her upbringing in rural England in the 1940s bring the war years to vivid life. Although the childhood she describes was a tragically unhappy one, the wisdom and generosity with which she recounts those hard times make this memoir an inspiration to read."—Jean Hegland, author of Into the Forest and Still Time

Praise for Call the Nurse and Nurse, Come You Here!

"Julia MacLeod shares unique and enchanting experiences as a nurse in rural Scotland. Her stories will ring true with every nurse—or anyone—who has ever cared for a family or a community, whether in Scotland or America. Call the Nurse is a delightful read.”
—LeAnn Thieman, author Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul

"Cozy and chatty . . . A lovely account of ordinary people thriving in an extraordinary landscape."—Kirkus Reviews

"The book feels like a letter from a friend who has an eye for travel writing. . . . With a nurse's no-nonsense manner, MacLeod relays tales of adventure, finding humor and humanity in her experiences. . . . For James Herriot fans, without the animals."—Booklist

"MacLeod proves to be an engaging narrative writer who uses humor and vernacular to her advantage. Should be of interest not only to medical professionals but to all readers who want to escape to a slower way of life."—Library Journal

"This lively and heartening memoir evokes both the hardships and the humour of island life."—The Scotsman

"This charming, bracing reminiscence of life on a remote Hebridean island captures a vanishing world filled with memorable stories and characters. . . . Mary J. MacLeod makes you care, moves you, amuses you, shocks you, teaches you: This is a surprising, satisfying memoir."—Floyd Skloot, author of In the Shadow of Memory and The Wink of the Zenith: The Shaping of a Writer's Life

"Call the Midwife gave [us] . . . the nursing profession in 1950s London. Now, a retired district nurse [gives us] the heartwarming and humorous—yet often shocking—events on a remote Scottish island."—Sunday Post, UK

"A charming tale, packed full with reminiscences, rather in the manner of the recent hit TV series, Call the Midwife. . . . Her tales of joy, trouble, drama, and comedy are warm and humorous, telling of a bygone era."—Westcountry Life, Western Morning News, UK

"Julia MacLeod has written a book which encapsulates Hebridean life during some decades past . . . with a sensitivity that reflects her nursing career."—Lady Claire Macdonald of Macdonald, from her foreword
 
"Not only about medical travails and emergencies, but also stories of friendship formed with steadfast people, children lost and found, farm animals that wander a little too far, and rumors of a ghostly apparition whispering a hidden secret. Extraordinary, heartwarming, and at times a little bit tragic, Nurse, Come You Here! captures the essence of a rugged, close-knit rural community."—The Biography Shelf
 

From the Publisher