Gwen Spencer, a scrappy young woman from the coal belt of the States, fights for a different life. As an orphan, she’s sent to live with an aunt who resents the expense of keeping the child. But Gwen, who’s scrubbed floors and picked up odd bits of coal, manages to defy her aunt and leave behind that drudgery of a life to become a nurse. As she’s graduating nursing school, the United States has become embroiled in World War I, so Gwen volunteers for the Army Nurse Corps, vowing to stay until the conflict is over.
She’s transported to France where she discovers that nursing is not a pleasant occupation. She deals with mud, inadequate housing, insufficient clothing to keep her warm, overbearing physicians, a devastating lack of supplies—plus thousands upon thousands of wounded men. After months in service, she again volunteers—to be part of an acute care team. Gwen and her group treat the wounded at the front lines, trying to get them fixed up within ninety minutes.
Things are not always bleak. Two men are interested in her: a British nobleman and an American—almost literally the boy next door.
I liked this book for multiple reasons: its historical accuracy, its medical accuracy, its depiction of strong women and their ability to perform under stressful conditions, and its representation of women’s contributions to the war efforts. Of course, Gwen herself, a woman who’s not afraid to reach out and grab a future for herself, is an empowering vision.
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Heroic Measures is available through:
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