My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

When her brother and brother-in-law enlist in the Union Army in 1861, she goes to Washington City to offer her services as a nurse. The best she can do to further her medical education is to acquire and study all of the most recent medical publications including Grey's Anatomy. She wants to become a surgeon but living in the mid 19th century no medical school will accept her nor can she find a surgeon who will train her. ( )Īt nineteen Mary Sutter, the daughter of a midwife, is a knowledgeable midwife herself.

Both can be read as stand-alone, but I am glad I went back to learn about the younger Mary. There is a sequel to this book Winter Sisters, which I read last year, before I knew it was # 2 in the series. She mixed fictional characters with real people(among those in this novel, Lincoln, Clara Barton, Dorthea Dix and of course all those names of Generals we know from that time period). This book won the James Joyce First Novel Fellowship for a work-in-progress. Robin Oliveira writes with passion and color. Neither materializes and with the the outbreak of the Civil War, Mary eyes Washington as the place she may be able to follow her calling. But Mary had higher aspirations and searched for a Surgeon to apprentice with, or a Medical School that will admit her. As Mary grows-up she begins to follow her mother to appointments and births and begins to love the work. Mary Sutter lives in Albany with her family, her mother being a sought after mid-wife in the community. A great tale of strong women, medicine and the Civil War.

My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira