Elizabeth Blackwell and her sister Emily came from a large, middle class, immagrant family in the early 1800's. Elizabeth was driven to prove that some women were just as intelligent and capable as men and decided to acomplish that task by earning a MD. After several failed attempts she was admitted, almost as a joke, into small medical college where she graduated with distinction. She then did an internship in Europe before returning to the US to establish a hospital for "indigent" women. Her younger sister, Emily, who also had a thirst for knowlege and a drive to succeed, also became a doctor and ultimately was more successful as a practitioner than her sister. The two women were shining examples for the women's suffrigists, with whom they didn't always agree, and paved the way for women to ultimately be accepted into the best medical colleges in America and Europe.
This is an interesting, warts-and-all type biography of impressive, but certainly not flawless women. Nimura did such a good job showing the two women's faults, I found by the end that I didn't like either one. Throughout I kept thinking that they were probably both what would currently be termed "on the spectrum" witch endeared me to them a little. I am glad I read the biography because I feel like I better understand both the state of medicine and the common conceptions about the roles of women during the time period, but I found reading it a bit of a slog and was glad when I had finished. (336, 2021)
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