In the humid summer of 1859, English nurse Lib Wright arrives in a rural Irish village to oversee an eleven-year-old girl named Anna O'Donnell. Anna’s family and priest claim she has not eaten for four months, thriving instead on "manna from heaven." Lib, trained by Florence Nightingale, is tasked with keeping an eight-hour watch to determine if the situation is a religious miracle or a medical fraud. As Anna’s physical health declines despite her spiritual fervor, Lib confronts a community trapped between Victorian scientific rationalism and strict Catholic dogma, eventually uncovering a dark domestic secret that necessitates a desperate rescue.
This novel serves readers interested in the historical tension between emerging clinical medicine and agrarian religious tradition. It appeals to those who study the "fasting girl" phenomena of the nineteenth century and the psychology of childhood trauma. Readers walk away with an understanding of how institutional belief systems can lead to collective blindness and the specific ethical dilemmas faced by early professional nurses. It provides a stark look at the material realities of post-Famine Ireland and the high stakes of personal integrity when confronted with systemic indoctrination.
Inward-looking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2016
- Language
- EN
