Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud owners of a near-derelict croft house—a farmer’s stone cottage—on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties … duties as the island’s district nurse. Call the Nurse is her account of the enchanted years she and her family spent there, coming to know its folk as both patients and friends.
In anecdotes that are by turns funny, sad, moving, and tragic, she recalls them all, the crofters and their laird, the boatmen and tradesmen, young lovers and forbidding churchmen. Against the old-fashioned island culture and the grandeur of mountain and sea unfold indelible stories: a young woman carried through snow for airlift to the hospital; a rescue by boat; the marriage of a gentle giant and the island beauty; a ghostly encounter; the shocking discovery of a woman in chains; the flames of a heather fire at night; an unexploded bomb from World War II; and the joyful, tipsy celebration of a ceilidh. Gaelic fortitude meets a nurse’s compassion in these wonderful true stories from rural Scotland.
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A quick, easy read with some great stories of life on a tiny island.
Could not get beyond the first chapter, even though I read non fiction frequently.
I enjoyed this book very much.
Nice light read but I would have enjoyed it more if the characters were more fully developed.
Lovely book
A great way to learn more about the Hebrides.
Nice fun read didn’t want it to end!
I really was disappointed in the ending. I really wanted to know why & when they left.
fun to learn about other places
Truly a joy.
Interesting book about nurse in remote area of Scotland. Enjoyed the many Intersting stories of the lives of the people in a remote area of Scotland. Good read. You will enjoy.
This author is exceptional in my book. Excellent storyteller of the lives of the community in which she lived while working as a district nurse on a remote island community.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am now reading her next book.
non-fiction The author actually moved with her family to an island in the Hebrides and served as a visiting nurse.
Wonderful writing voice!
Author is a good story teller. Very good description of the small Hebrides island and life with the local neighbors.
I enjoyed the book. The descriptions of the area made you feel like you were right there.
These true stories of a travelling nurse living in the remote Scottish islands in the 1970’s were touching, often humorous, and tender. The author beautifully described the awe-inspiring scenery and the unique character of her patients.
inforrmative way of living for that time period, nurses did so much
Great journal for adventure