Maria Smilios

At a time when tuberculosis was a long death sentence, New York created Sea View, a sanatorium on Staten Island. During the great depression, a nursing shortage forced hospitals and medical practices to open up the field to black nurses. At Sea View, the wards were filled with the Black Angels - the only nurses who would work in the dangerous sanatorium. This book follows several black nurses and their patients as potential cures were tested and discarded.

I could not put this book down. It was engaging and well written. The nurses and patients described throughout were fully developed and extremely relatable. Each of the nurses was an unsung hero who deserves recognition and accolades. Overall, 5 out of 5 stars.… (más)

contagion, bias, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, medical-history, medical-perspective, medical-treatment, tuberculosis*****

This is an amazing exploration of the 20th century history of tuberculosis and the Black women who worked under horrible conditions to make it possible for new developments in treatment.
My MIL spent a year in a TB sanitorium in the 1920s but lived long and prospered. I have been an RN since 1968 and have seen the nonrespiratory TB, in the 1990s/2000s (while I was working in jails) TB was a scourge in the Soviet union. But I was clueless about the history encapsulated in this very necessary book.
I requested and received an EARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons via NetGalley. Thank you!… (más)