Mailbox Monday - Feb 22

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

How is it possible that February is coming to a close? Not much in the way of snow this year. We had a couple of snow days this month, but it's been a non-eventful winter overall.

The children were on vacation this past week, so I took some time off from real estate to spend with them. We didn't go far, but at least we were together.

As far as books goes, it was slow around here. I am thankful for that, as I am just beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel for books I promised to read and review.

The following book I pre-ordered from Amazon because I'm totally hooked on the PBS series, Mercy Street. This is my favorite time period to read about and I've actually taken a college course that studied the American Civil War. The show is a bit gory for my tastes, but I never miss it.

The true stories of the real nurses on the PBS show Mercy Street

The nurses of the Civil War ushered in a new era for medicine in the midst of tremendous hardship. While the country was at war, these women not only learned to advocate and care for patients in hostile settings, saved countless lives, and changed the profession forever, they regularly fell ill with no one to nurse them in return, seethed in anger at the indifference and inefficiency that left wounded men on the battlefield without care, and all too often mourned for those they could not rescue.

Heroines of Mercy Street tells the true stories of the nurses at Mansion House, the Alexandria, Virginia, hotel turned wartime hospital and setting for the PBS show Mercy Street. Women like Dorothea Dix, Mary Phinney, Anne Reading, and more rushed to be of service to their country during the war, meeting challenges that would discourage less determined souls every step of the way. They saw casualties on a scale Americans had never seen before; diseases like typhoid and dysentery were rampant; and working conditions-both physically and emotionally--were abysmal.

Drawing on the diaries, letters, and books written by these nursing pioneers, Pamela D. Toler, PhD, has written a fascinating portrait of true heroines, shining a light on their personal contributions during one of our country's most turbulent periods.

What do you receive last week?