Nurse training for Florence Elizabeth (Betha) McMillan was a far cry from her previous training at Parisian art schools. The daughter of Sir William McMillan, a prominent political figure in New South Wales, her life was dramatically changed when she became one of the first Australian-trained nurses to go to War in 1914.This book provides a glimpse into the life of an independent woman whose war experience, while terrible, provided an uncomfortable paradox for Betha's sensitivity, creativity and intelligence. Her letters reveal a unique story of an Australian nurse who, despite the distressing circumstances of nursing on various war fronts, successfully exercised her creative care and professional skills to save numerous lives.After the War, Betha trained as a mothercraft nurse in London, where she met Dr Frederic Truby King, founder of New Zealand's Plunket Society. By 1921 she was the matron of the Plunket Society Hospital in New Zealand, later becoming director of the Australian Mothercraft Society which in turn came to be Karitane which still supports babies, young children and mothers today.Loss is a personal theme throughout Betha's life, but through nursing she gained independence and agency. Her letters are a wonderful insight into the thoughts of women in war and have been carefully interpreted by Clare Ashton.