A Splendid Gift
By Barbara Elle Prisceaux

I usually enjoy reading memoirs by doctors and nurses because I am very curious as to what attracted them to the art of medicine, what kept them there or, in some cases, caused them to leave.

With that in mind, I began reading A Splendid Gift with hopes that I would get an insight into how nursing had changed from the 1960s to now. Instead, I was treated to a story that amounted to a “Cliff’s Notes” of the author’s life.

Never did I get a real understanding of nursing and her interactions with her patients. Instead, in my view the story revolved around too many non-medical situations, such as her getting a master’s degree in arts, going to law school, starting a side-hustle, her marriages, and her moving from job to job. At times, the book felt superficial.

I remember in school, even in college programming classes, teachers would impress upon their charges three simple words “Compare and Contrast” to understand what was being taught. In this case, it might have been more interesting had the author focused on some of the differences she saw with patient care through the years by demonstrating it with actual patients she worked with—what was the same, what was different, how it might further change.

This book may be of interest to someone contemplating a career in nursing, though honestly there are probably better books on the subject.

3/5

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]