Overview

Mary J. Macleod and her husband left the London area for an idyllic place to raise their young children in the late sixties, and they found the island of Papavray in the Scottish Hebrides. There they bought a croft house on a small acre of land, and Mary J. (also known as Julia) became the district nurse. At the age of eighty, she first recounted her family s adventures in her debut, Call the Nurse, where she introduced readers to the austere beauties of the island and the hardy charm and warmth of the islanders. The anecdotes in this new volume take us to the end of her stay on Papavray, after which the MacLeod family left for California. Once again we meet the crofters Archie, Mary, and Fergie, and other friends. There are stories of troubles, joy, and tragedy, of children lost and found, the cow that wandered into the kitchen, a distraught young mother who strides into the icy surf with her infant child, the ghostly apparition that returns after death to reveal the will in a sewing box. There are accidents and broken bones, twisters that come in from the sea, and acts of simple courage and uncommon generosity. Here again, a nurse s compassion meets Gaelic fortitude in these true tales of a bygone era.

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9781628725438

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Reviews

Praise for Call the Nurse 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 MacLeod relays tales of adventure, finding humor and humanity in her experiences. -- 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 c

Author Information

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 lives in Ascot in Berkshire, England.

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