Heart and Soul
The Story of Florence Nightingale
In Florence Nightingale’s day, if a person was sick – and lucky – he or she was nursed at home with caring family members tending the bedside. Hospitals were horrible places from which few emerged alive. The nurses were often drunks and prostitutes. Doctors had rudimentary skills.
Thus the privileged Nightingale family was appalled when Florence, who had done her share of household nursing, announced that she wanted to train to work in a hospital. After all, her role was cut out for her: she was to be a decorative, witty lady. A career, much less nursing, was out of the question.
It took many years, but Florence found her calling in Crimea. More English soldiers died of sickness there than died…
Gena K. Gorrell is not only a highly respected editor, but also an award-winning author of nonfiction for young people, including In the Land of the Jaguar: South America and It's People and Working Like a Dog: The Story of Working Dogs through History. Her books have won many honors, including the Norma Fleck Award for Nonfiction for Heart and Soul: The Story of Florence Nightingale. Gena K. Gorrell has also been a first-aid instructor and a volunteer officer in the Toronto Police Marine Unit. She lives in Toronto with her husband and dog.
