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Sixty Years a Nurse
When 18-year-old Mary Hazard touched down in post-war Putney to begin her nurse’s training, she could never have known that it was the beginning of a colourful career that would still be going 60 years later – one of the longest ever serving NHS nurses.
For Mary, raised in a strict convent in rural south Ireland, working in her first London hospital was a shocking and life-changing experience. Against a backdrop of ongoing rationing and poverty, she saw for the first time the horrors of disease, the heart-breaking outcomes of failed abortions – and faced the genuine shock of seeing a man naked for the first time!
60 Years a Nurse follows the dramas and emotions as Mary found her feet during those early years. From the firm friends she made under the ever-watchful gaze of Matron and the sisters, to the eclectic mix of Londoners she strove to care for; the Teddy Boys she danced with and the freedom of living away from home; and her own burgeoning love story, as extraordinary as it was romantic – these are the funny and heartwarming moments that helped Mary to follow her dream.
For Mary, raised in a strict convent in rural south Ireland, working in her first London hospital was a shocking and life-changing experience. Against a backdrop of ongoing rationing and poverty, she saw for the first time the horrors of disease, the heart-breaking outcomes of failed abortions – and faced the genuine shock of seeing a man naked for the first time!
60 Years a Nurse follows the dramas and emotions as Mary found her feet during those early years. From the firm friends she made under the ever-watchful gaze of Matron and the sisters, to the eclectic mix of Londoners she strove to care for; the Teddy Boys she danced with and the freedom of living away from home; and her own burgeoning love story, as extraordinary as it was romantic – these are the funny and heartwarming moments that helped Mary to follow her dream.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 9, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 17, 2020
Part of this book is about Hazard's childhood, and the bulk of it about her life as a student nurse. The rest of her life is just summed up in a few pages at the end. I think it's an excellent read for anyone interested in social history. The book is ghost written, but comes across with an immediacy that for me sounded authentic. What follows is a brief summary which will hopefully give a flavour of the book.
Hazard was born in what is now The Republic of Ireland and her childhood was tough. The nuns at her school were draconian, and didn't hesitate to apply physical punishment for the smallest mistake. Her mother was also very strict, and extremely fastidious; everything had to be perfect. In spite of this she was a feisty and rather naughty child and her gutsy attitude is attractive.
Her childhood was overshadowed by a momentous experience for all of the family. Four of her siblings plus Hazard herself, had all had tuberculosis. Fortunately for Hazard and her brother they recovered spontaneously, their immune system had fought off the disease - but the other three sisters all had to go to a sanatorium. One was in there for six years and underwent horrible operations, having a lung removed, and all her ribs on one side. Their mother was horrified at the stigma should the truth about her children's TB get out. This disease killed people. Neighbours would walk to the other side of the street, rather than pass by, if they thought you or those close to you had it. It meant you were "inferior, that we lived in dirty surroundings, that we were the lower classes." There wasn't any proper help until the mid 1950s with the arrival of new antibiotics, and other treatments that began to work. Fortunately, in the end all the children survived.
Her parents were not only Irish Nationalists, but her father was also a member of the IRA. He told her that he had killed a peeler (an English policeman working in Ireland), when he was younger. Her parents were aghast when she told them she want to do to the UK to study to be a nurse, as they regarded the England and English as the enemy (as did many Irish at this time. ) I'm curious as to why she didn't think of doing her training in Ireland, in the face of such parental hostility, but it wasn't really discussed.
She went to do her nurses training at Putney Hospital in London. Her mother, and I think her father too, showed their disapproval of her by cutting her dead, without visits or even letters over the course of her training.
Hazard had a good time as a student nurse. Work was enormously challenging, and the staff sisters were ruthless disciplinarians - with the exception of their staff nurse tutor, who seemed surprisingly human compared with her peers. But life in the student hostel was fun, and often in the evenings they would get together, drinking Merrydown cider and smoking Woodbines. She talks about them also sneaking out to London's Hammersmith Palais dance hall, or even up to the Lyceum Ballroom. "It wasn't unknown for us to go up to town, and go round collecting the glass 'pop' bottles in a park, and then take them back to the grocers' shops to get the deposit money. If we were shrewd and worked hard we could pick up enough money to cover our dance tickets, drinks and bus fares all evening."
She started her training in 1952 aged seventeen, four years after the start of the NHS. The hospital still had a private wing, where the main difference was that patients got much quicker access to consultants and operations. It was while working on the private wing that she had a very distressing experience of an abortion, which I'm sure would be illegal today. A very ill patient being given assisted suicide by two doctors was also discussed.
The book is full of all sorts of anecdotes, like the time she looked after a new arrival who was heaving with lice. Due to an oversight about his discarded cloths the lice got into the general hospital laundry, to the fury of the sister in charge.
She raised the point that having your tonsils out were 'all the rage' in the 1950s, and that it was an unpleasant and risky process due to post-operative infection. She added that this operation has now largely gone out of fashion. (That gave me an ah-ha moment, as I am one of those late 1950s children who had their tonsils out.)
Later on she decided she wanted to get married - to an Englishman. In the eyes of her mother "that was one of the worst possible sins that I could commit"...and eventually she heard of her daughter's plans. She travelled to England, came to the hospital, and marched her all the way back to Ireland. She was held more or less prisoner in the family home for three months, which was allowed, as she was under twenty-one, and still legally a minor. Finally she got a letter out of the house and through to the nursing tutor at the hospital, explaining her desperate situation. In response the tutor wrote to her mother, but she was unrepentant. But one of her sister's saw the letter. She helped her escape and gave her the money to get back to England - and Putney Hospital. Once back there, she managed to catch up with the missed training, and in 1955 she passed her finals, and emerged as a state registered nurse.
She married in 1956, although hid her ring on a neck chain, as married nurses were not allowed to practise.
Reading the book, I think Hazard was probably a lovely nurse. She talks about filling the pipes of elderly gentleman who couldn't do it themselves (yes, smoking was allowed on the wards), and doing various things to cheer people up and make them feel more at home. These gestures were often done in the behind the back of dictatorial staff sisters who seemed to put patient comforts way behind the needs of hospital procedures and exalted doctors.
I'm someone who enjoys autobiographies - but most of all I enjoyed learning about hospital life in the 1950s. I found this an interesting read.
Hazard was born in what is now The Republic of Ireland and her childhood was tough. The nuns at her school were draconian, and didn't hesitate to apply physical punishment for the smallest mistake. Her mother was also very strict, and extremely fastidious; everything had to be perfect. In spite of this she was a feisty and rather naughty child and her gutsy attitude is attractive.
Her childhood was overshadowed by a momentous experience for all of the family. Four of her siblings plus Hazard herself, had all had tuberculosis. Fortunately for Hazard and her brother they recovered spontaneously, their immune system had fought off the disease - but the other three sisters all had to go to a sanatorium. One was in there for six years and underwent horrible operations, having a lung removed, and all her ribs on one side. Their mother was horrified at the stigma should the truth about her children's TB get out. This disease killed people. Neighbours would walk to the other side of the street, rather than pass by, if they thought you or those close to you had it. It meant you were "inferior, that we lived in dirty surroundings, that we were the lower classes." There wasn't any proper help until the mid 1950s with the arrival of new antibiotics, and other treatments that began to work. Fortunately, in the end all the children survived.
Her parents were not only Irish Nationalists, but her father was also a member of the IRA. He told her that he had killed a peeler (an English policeman working in Ireland), when he was younger. Her parents were aghast when she told them she want to do to the UK to study to be a nurse, as they regarded the England and English as the enemy (as did many Irish at this time. ) I'm curious as to why she didn't think of doing her training in Ireland, in the face of such parental hostility, but it wasn't really discussed.
She went to do her nurses training at Putney Hospital in London. Her mother, and I think her father too, showed their disapproval of her by cutting her dead, without visits or even letters over the course of her training.
Hazard had a good time as a student nurse. Work was enormously challenging, and the staff sisters were ruthless disciplinarians - with the exception of their staff nurse tutor, who seemed surprisingly human compared with her peers. But life in the student hostel was fun, and often in the evenings they would get together, drinking Merrydown cider and smoking Woodbines. She talks about them also sneaking out to London's Hammersmith Palais dance hall, or even up to the Lyceum Ballroom. "It wasn't unknown for us to go up to town, and go round collecting the glass 'pop' bottles in a park, and then take them back to the grocers' shops to get the deposit money. If we were shrewd and worked hard we could pick up enough money to cover our dance tickets, drinks and bus fares all evening."
She started her training in 1952 aged seventeen, four years after the start of the NHS. The hospital still had a private wing, where the main difference was that patients got much quicker access to consultants and operations. It was while working on the private wing that she had a very distressing experience of an abortion, which I'm sure would be illegal today. A very ill patient being given assisted suicide by two doctors was also discussed.
The book is full of all sorts of anecdotes, like the time she looked after a new arrival who was heaving with lice. Due to an oversight about his discarded cloths the lice got into the general hospital laundry, to the fury of the sister in charge.
She raised the point that having your tonsils out were 'all the rage' in the 1950s, and that it was an unpleasant and risky process due to post-operative infection. She added that this operation has now largely gone out of fashion. (That gave me an ah-ha moment, as I am one of those late 1950s children who had their tonsils out.)
Later on she decided she wanted to get married - to an Englishman. In the eyes of her mother "that was one of the worst possible sins that I could commit"...and eventually she heard of her daughter's plans. She travelled to England, came to the hospital, and marched her all the way back to Ireland. She was held more or less prisoner in the family home for three months, which was allowed, as she was under twenty-one, and still legally a minor. Finally she got a letter out of the house and through to the nursing tutor at the hospital, explaining her desperate situation. In response the tutor wrote to her mother, but she was unrepentant. But one of her sister's saw the letter. She helped her escape and gave her the money to get back to England - and Putney Hospital. Once back there, she managed to catch up with the missed training, and in 1955 she passed her finals, and emerged as a state registered nurse.
She married in 1956, although hid her ring on a neck chain, as married nurses were not allowed to practise.
Reading the book, I think Hazard was probably a lovely nurse. She talks about filling the pipes of elderly gentleman who couldn't do it themselves (yes, smoking was allowed on the wards), and doing various things to cheer people up and make them feel more at home. These gestures were often done in the behind the back of dictatorial staff sisters who seemed to put patient comforts way behind the needs of hospital procedures and exalted doctors.
I'm someone who enjoys autobiographies - but most of all I enjoyed learning about hospital life in the 1950s. I found this an interesting read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2018
The more I read about nursing in the 50s,60s and so on the more I get a crazy idea in my head that if I had been alive then I would've probably had a go at nursing myself. Although the regime was strict and disciplined it generally produced very good results, especially the cleaning regime where everything had to be doused in Dettol. What I loved reading about particularly was the way procedures have changed over the years and the level of care that was taken with really very basic equipment. Also the fun and friendships that mirror the hard work are something lovely.
April 26, 2018
What really makes or breaks a memoir is not so much what the author has to say - although that is of interest - but how skilfully they say it. Mary Hazard's story IS interesting. She's one of the longest serving nurses in the history of the NHS, a fact remarkable enough in itself, but made all the more so by the knowledge that she kept a marriage secret to carry on with her vocation in an era in which married women could/did not work. Her book contains some emotive stories, showing the impact of the ostracism of lesbian nurses, of race and abortion, of euthanasia and also simply of her family life which unfolds in a way almost unheard of today.
It's not lack of potential that's the problem with Sixty Years a Nurse, it's lack of flair. The writing isn't bad as per se, but it is uninspired. We're relatively detached from the stories and people contained within. It's an entertaining enough read but not something that's going to leave you going "Wow!"
If you are interested, you can read most of Hazard's anecdotes in various news articles referring to her long service.
It's not lack of potential that's the problem with Sixty Years a Nurse, it's lack of flair. The writing isn't bad as per se, but it is uninspired. We're relatively detached from the stories and people contained within. It's an entertaining enough read but not something that's going to leave you going "Wow!"
If you are interested, you can read most of Hazard's anecdotes in various news articles referring to her long service.
February 7, 2017
Very good memoir about a young Irish nursing student coming to train at an English hospital. Provides an interesting insight on the social norms in Britain in the 1950's and as my eldest daughter is a Professor of Nursing, the book will provide more long conversations on a changing Profession.
October 17, 2015
I am not feeling that well at the moment physically or mentally therefore my review of this book will be short and to the point. I found a copy of this book at my local library. This book was a great read Mary herself comes across as a wonderful young lady and the book itself kept me engaged from cover to cover. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys to read memoirs.
May 30, 2021
When I think I've got 30 some pages of a book left, and they turn out to be a "teaser" for a different book by a totally different author, I know that two stars is justified. That's what happened with this one.
As other reviewers have said, the first part was good, but the actual nursing part (the supposed focus of the book) is glossed over and rushed through. That business at the end with "the neighbours call me Queen Mary, I have no idea why" seemed terribly coy. And I can't stand coy! Little to no information is given about her post-training interactions with other nurses, doctors, and with patients only in the most superficial terms. She mentions just in passing that she twice "did a bit of midwifery but decided it wasn't for her" without elaborating at all. We hear in passing that her two marriages both ended in divorce; as in the case of Linda Fairley, no reason at all is given for her splitting up with the "love of her life" with whom she was supposedly so "poor but ecstatically happy." Just like Fairley, we are told nothing of her relationship with her sons beyond their names; which in itself is rather revealing. At least Hazard doesn't recite every award, certification or other symbol of external validation she was given! I was very surprised that she was allowed to practice nursing until the age of 80.
As other reviewers have said, the first part was good, but the actual nursing part (the supposed focus of the book) is glossed over and rushed through. That business at the end with "the neighbours call me Queen Mary, I have no idea why" seemed terribly coy. And I can't stand coy! Little to no information is given about her post-training interactions with other nurses, doctors, and with patients only in the most superficial terms. She mentions just in passing that she twice "did a bit of midwifery but decided it wasn't for her" without elaborating at all. We hear in passing that her two marriages both ended in divorce; as in the case of Linda Fairley, no reason at all is given for her splitting up with the "love of her life" with whom she was supposedly so "poor but ecstatically happy." Just like Fairley, we are told nothing of her relationship with her sons beyond their names; which in itself is rather revealing. At least Hazard doesn't recite every award, certification or other symbol of external validation she was given! I was very surprised that she was allowed to practice nursing until the age of 80.
January 18, 2020
My 3* review for the short kindle edition of the first part of Mary Hazard/s autobiography "Sixty Years A Nurse"
"When 18-year-old Mary Hazard touched down in post-war Putney to begin her nurse’s training, she could never have known that it was the beginning of a colourful career that would still be going 60 years later – one of the longest ever serving NHS nurses.
For Mary, raised in a strict convent in rural south Ireland, working in her first London hospital was a shocking and life-changing experience. Against a backdrop of ongoing rationing and poverty, she saw for the first time the horrors of disease, the heart-breaking outcomes of failed abortions – and faced the genuine shock of seeing a man naked for the first time!"
I was really looking forward to reading this as I love Call The Midwife and other historical dramas that deal with the hardships that ordinary people endured in the 1950's/1960's in Britain. I was certainly not disappointed with the book (although it ended too soon as it was only the first 4 chapters and not the whole book!) and I now want to read parts 2 and 3 of the autobiography. It made me smile, laugh, and gasp at some of the things Mary saw and experienced and I truly believe we don't thank Nurses enough for all they do for our country.
A great autobiography full of true experiences of a Nurse with a sprinkle of sadness and humour too.
"When 18-year-old Mary Hazard touched down in post-war Putney to begin her nurse’s training, she could never have known that it was the beginning of a colourful career that would still be going 60 years later – one of the longest ever serving NHS nurses.
For Mary, raised in a strict convent in rural south Ireland, working in her first London hospital was a shocking and life-changing experience. Against a backdrop of ongoing rationing and poverty, she saw for the first time the horrors of disease, the heart-breaking outcomes of failed abortions – and faced the genuine shock of seeing a man naked for the first time!"
I was really looking forward to reading this as I love Call The Midwife and other historical dramas that deal with the hardships that ordinary people endured in the 1950's/1960's in Britain. I was certainly not disappointed with the book (although it ended too soon as it was only the first 4 chapters and not the whole book!) and I now want to read parts 2 and 3 of the autobiography. It made me smile, laugh, and gasp at some of the things Mary saw and experienced and I truly believe we don't thank Nurses enough for all they do for our country.
A great autobiography full of true experiences of a Nurse with a sprinkle of sadness and humour too.
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February 11, 2016Loved loved loved this book, was needing a bit of encouragement and motivation after a tough few weeks at work. This worked a treat, countless giggles and laughs Mary during her younger years and mistakes.
June 1, 2021
Absolutely loved reading about how nursing was many years ago and adore Mary, such a special character. Thought about my beautiful Nan all the way through who was a nurse back then too and the reason I am a nurse today. Lovely read, would highly recommend.
October 25, 2023
It was a touchin and eye opening memoir. I've learnt a lot and I really felt for the author in some moments, though I expected she'll tell more about how NHS and nursing and her career evolved through the years, anyway still was very useful to learn how it's been in very early years of NHS forming, I can confirm that now we're living in very good times! I've realised that it is important to have an occupation you're truly passionate about and which can keep you up in most difficult of times.
February 27, 2020
Sixty years a nurse is a lovely memoir about an inspirational woman who nursed for the NHS for sixty two years.
This funny, tragic, interesting and inspirational book was written by Mary Hazard herself who has a clear and easy-to-read style of writing (It only took me about two hours to read.)
Hearing about the history of nursing and Mary's various experiences with it has left me wanting to be a nurse and I definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like an emotional and interesting book about nursing.
In three words... Interesting. Inspiring. Emotional.
This funny, tragic, interesting and inspirational book was written by Mary Hazard herself who has a clear and easy-to-read style of writing (It only took me about two hours to read.)
Hearing about the history of nursing and Mary's various experiences with it has left me wanting to be a nurse and I definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like an emotional and interesting book about nursing.
In three words... Interesting. Inspiring. Emotional.
December 17, 2018
As far as memoirs go, this one was fairy captivating and a pleasant read. However, the bulk of it is about the author's experience being a nurse-in-training in the early 50's in the UK. I was hoping to read about her perspective on the changes in healthcare and the NHS over the course of her sixty years in service, but anything after 1957 was quickly bunched up in the final chapter.
August 23, 2016
Wonderful memoirs! So much fun and enlightening to read.
August 14, 2017
Not quite what I expected but still a good book. Focussed a lot on her getting in to nursing and the beginning of her career rather than the journey through the sixty years.
March 4, 2023
Unabridged audio e version read by Deirdre O'Connell.
Autobiography written with help from Corinne Sweet (well Mary Hazard was in her 80s at this point!)
You can enjoy a good story, be admiring of an individual and still have lots of criticisms of their autobiography, that's okay, right?
Mary has had a remarkable life, from growing up in a strongly Irish Catholic family, with a father with a shot gun he threatens people with, whilst being a respectable member of society, with money and influence, siblings who suffer from TB, which Mary catches without knowing and recovers, flees to England to learn to be a nurse, which gets interurpted suddenly (no spoilers about why and what happens), a career she devotes her life to for significantly over 60 years. It was a fascinating insight into an, at times exciting, sometimes tragic, packed life.
But 90% of the book covers her early life and education in a convent school, the decision to leave home to train, and the first 2 1/2 years of training. The rest of her life, including two horrendous bereavements, and a successful business venture are squeezed in at the end and not given the space for the reader/audience to take everything in. So although Sixty years a nurse is an accurate description of Mary, and a massive, rare accomplishment, it doesn't truly match the content of the memoir.
The prose elsewhere is incredibly repetitive. Sweet Jesus! I think I get how hard work it was cleaning the ward as a probationer in the 1950s, and that Sweet Jesus, she and her friends were partial to a woodbine, that morphine injections do not last sufficient time and so dying patients are in agony, Sweet Jesus it was cruel that there were few wards so women with babies were in beds next to those suffering a botched abortion or miscarriage .... this narrative needed a really good edit, similar stories collecting together, rather than sticking to a rigid timeline of her training, and the end being allowed to be developed more. I could really see how to make this a much stronger read, so it was a little frustrating and do not think Mary's remarkable story was given full justice. Anyone in any doubt about our NHS needs to read such memoirs, making it more important that these texts are well written.
The narration was excellent, and for listening to whilst doing other tasks, it made a good listen, but it had its faults.
Autobiography written with help from Corinne Sweet (well Mary Hazard was in her 80s at this point!)
You can enjoy a good story, be admiring of an individual and still have lots of criticisms of their autobiography, that's okay, right?
Mary has had a remarkable life, from growing up in a strongly Irish Catholic family, with a father with a shot gun he threatens people with, whilst being a respectable member of society, with money and influence, siblings who suffer from TB, which Mary catches without knowing and recovers, flees to England to learn to be a nurse, which gets interurpted suddenly (no spoilers about why and what happens), a career she devotes her life to for significantly over 60 years. It was a fascinating insight into an, at times exciting, sometimes tragic, packed life.
But 90% of the book covers her early life and education in a convent school, the decision to leave home to train, and the first 2 1/2 years of training. The rest of her life, including two horrendous bereavements, and a successful business venture are squeezed in at the end and not given the space for the reader/audience to take everything in. So although Sixty years a nurse is an accurate description of Mary, and a massive, rare accomplishment, it doesn't truly match the content of the memoir.
The prose elsewhere is incredibly repetitive. Sweet Jesus! I think I get how hard work it was cleaning the ward as a probationer in the 1950s, and that Sweet Jesus, she and her friends were partial to a woodbine, that morphine injections do not last sufficient time and so dying patients are in agony, Sweet Jesus it was cruel that there were few wards so women with babies were in beds next to those suffering a botched abortion or miscarriage .... this narrative needed a really good edit, similar stories collecting together, rather than sticking to a rigid timeline of her training, and the end being allowed to be developed more. I could really see how to make this a much stronger read, so it was a little frustrating and do not think Mary's remarkable story was given full justice. Anyone in any doubt about our NHS needs to read such memoirs, making it more important that these texts are well written.
The narration was excellent, and for listening to whilst doing other tasks, it made a good listen, but it had its faults.
September 29, 2023
From the title and subtitle, I was expecting this book to cover Mary's whole working life, but it really just talks about her nurse's training. The first chapter covers her childhood and arrival in Putney to start her training, and the next 14 chapters covers the actual training, with a lot of repetitive anecdotes about her mistakes and the mischief she got up to in her free time, finishing with her qualifying as a nurse aged 22. The final dozen pages cover her life and career from age 22 to 80; two marriages, two divorces, the birth of three children and the death of one of them as a young adult, all are passed over in a few paragraphs. As for the nursing, we are told that she tried midwifery and private nursing and 'didn't care for it', that she enjoyed caring for the elderly and loved nursing generally, but that is about it. I also found the language irritatingly coy at times - sex is regularly referred to as "the 's' word", lesbians are "that way inclined" which seems oddly squeamish coming from a nurse! She also ends up 'helplessly crying' and unable to speak for tears at least once a page, which does make me wonder how she coped with a long career in nursing.
There were a few moments of interest where one realises how much nursing has changed in the last 60 years, but there was an awful lot of padding in this book - which was frustrating, as 60 years of nursing must surely have provided enough material for a dozen books!
There were a few moments of interest where one realises how much nursing has changed in the last 60 years, but there was an awful lot of padding in this book - which was frustrating, as 60 years of nursing must surely have provided enough material for a dozen books!
April 19, 2020
Loved this book - a fascinating read and what a wonderful, colourful lady Mary is - seemed all the more poignant in the current climate - thank you Mary for dedicating your life to the NHS and helping others - you’re a treasure and a credit to your family (special shout out to Christopher - my dear friend and ex boss of 34 years! I can see where he gets his sense of humour and mischief from 😀).
January 5, 2022
This is about her training, so you don't see much progression in the nursing role... all very "yes sister". I expected to see a 60year journey given the title.
Some anecdotes are very fluffed out with little point, and bits are quite repetitive (repeated descriptions etc)
Found it far less engaging due to this though insight into 50s ireland was ok
Some anecdotes are very fluffed out with little point, and bits are quite repetitive (repeated descriptions etc)
Found it far less engaging due to this though insight into 50s ireland was ok
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2024
Amusing, witty, and frankly nasty in spots, in fact often VERY nasty, Mary Hazard's saga of being an Irish nurse the old days of the British National Health Service is a real classic of the medical genre. The job was tough as being in the army, except you didn't get shot, though you were likely to kill many more people. The audio version read by Deirdre O'Connell is especially good.
June 30, 2020
This gave me such great insight of how the nurses worked, beginning from the 1950's in Britain. As I, myself want to become a Nurse one day, it gave motivation and more drive to achieve this.
April 5, 2022
so charming!
April 9, 2022
Amazing book and so incredible to read when I'm currently training in the NHS to see how different things are
January 31, 2023
Interesting start - slow finish- a bit much on “and then”…”sweet Jesus”
August 21, 2024
Good, not super memorable.
March 27, 2024
An unexpected find at a thrift book sale.
Wonderful book!
Makes one ponder over the evolution of medicine and societies from the 1950s to the present.
It gives a glimpse of the ethical dilemmas confronted by medical staff.
It puts you through a range of emotions - happiness, sadness, anger, shock, sympathy...
Mary Hazard's life depicts how dedication to a profession can make life fulfilling and worth living.
Wonderful book!
Makes one ponder over the evolution of medicine and societies from the 1950s to the present.
It gives a glimpse of the ethical dilemmas confronted by medical staff.
It puts you through a range of emotions - happiness, sadness, anger, shock, sympathy...
Mary Hazard's life depicts how dedication to a profession can make life fulfilling and worth living.
June 9, 2021
This memoir shows the tragedy and beauty of being an NHS nurse in the NHS’s infancy. It was fascinating as a nurse now, to compare what it was like back in the 50’s, some ways of working were better, but others certainly weren’t! This is a tale of compassion that has only grown my love of nursing. I just wish this book was longer to detail the sixty years of nursing and the changes, rather than just focusing on Mary’s early training and rushing through the rest in the last chapter.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews