Mary J. Macleod and her husband left the London area for an idyllic place to raise their young children in the late sixties, and they found the island of Papavray in the Scottish Hebrides. There they bought a croft house on a “small acre” of land, and Mary J. (also known as Julia) became the district nurse. At the age of eighty, she first recounted her family’s adventures in her debut, Call the Nurse , where she introduced readers to the austere beauties of the island and the hardy charm and warmth of the islanders. The anecdotes in this new volume take us to the end of her stay on Papavray, after which the MacLeod family left for California.
Once again we meet the crofters Archie, Mary, and Fergie, and other friends. There are stories of troubles, joy, and tragedy, of children lost and found, the cow that wandered into the kitchen, a distraught young mother who strides into the icy surf with her infant child, the ghostly apparition that returns after death to reveal the will in a sewing box. There are accidents and broken bones, twisters that come in from the sea, and acts of simple courage and uncommon generosity. Here again, a nurse’s compassion meets Gaelic fortitude in these true tales of a bygone era.
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This was a fairly good book. It had elements that seemed lost and others were the writing was so fantastic that one could smell the salt air by the sea.
This was the arcs book in a series. Unfortunately, I would have liked a summary of book one. Because there was mot such summary, the characters were vague.
I hope you read book one beforehand. Otherwise, I do not recommend this book.
3.5 stars This is Macleod's second memoir of life on a Scottish Isle. If you love all things Scottish, as I do, you will enjoy daily pleasures: We'll make some tea and have a nice warm up. Or In Scotland, one does not 'mend' anything or 'fix' it in any way. One 'sorts' it.
The format—short, disconnected vignettes—worked against holding my attention. Several stories in the middle just weren't that funny or remarkable, but I kept reading from a sense of loyalty. Towards the end, her husband was hired by a firm in California and I thoroughly enjoyed a Brit's view of life in California and Nevada. Her remarks on the debt-ridden southern CA lifestyle and a summer in remote Nevada were great. I had never before heard of Lake turnover, the process where temperature changes cause plant life from the bottom of the lake to rise to the surface and clear water to sink. She tells of a family camping trip to Yosemite...close in time to some camping I did in Yosemite with friends.
I admire Mary J. Macleod. She wrote her first book in her eighties and wrote another after the first was a publishing success. She learned to water ski in her fifties and five years later took up wind surfing. She writes with grace and gratitude.
Living in such a remote and windblown location surrounded by the capricious sea had its disadvantages, of course, but oh, the compensations! The beauty of the majestic mountains with their hurrying, bubbling cascades, the glittering lochs, deep glens, and the sight and sound of the surging sea gave my life a simple reality.
I enjoyed MacLeod’s first book “Call the Nurse” about her life as a nurse on the Island of Papavray in the Scottish Hebrides. So, I decided to read the sequel. I must say that I enjoyed the first book more than the second.
The first part of the book is about life and nursing on Papavray. The second part is about the family following her husband as his work took them to Nevada, California and England. The book is well written and the famous Scottish humor is prevalent in the story. MacLeod presents various short stories about people she cared for. I found it interesting to learn about the state of medical and nursing care in the 1960s. MacLeod reveals the cultural shock the family felt going from the Hebrides Island to Nevada and California and from Scottish culture to American Culture. Overall the book made of a delightful, easy read.
I read this as an e-book via my Kindle app for the iPad. The book is 320 pages long.
I thoroughly enjoyed the author's first book about being a district nurse in the Outer Hebrides and looked forward to reading Nurse, Come You Hear, her second book about her experience. The novel did not disappoint as it's a slice-of-life that is now gone. Her stories about the Outer Hebrides in the 1970s are just incredible but so foreign to our fast-paced, hectic, materialistic, present day lives.
This was part 2 of a memoir written by a woman who served as a nurse in a remote western Scottish Island. Each chapter is a story of something that occurred in her life. It includes when her husband goes to work in the US and the family goes with him living briefly in Nevada and then on to California. Having a Scottish background, I was very interested in the descriptions of the island and the people who live there.
THe book was both interesting and worthwhile and I would read the first part in order to have a complete picture, though the book I read can certainly stand alone and you do not need to read the first book in order to enjoy this one.
More adventures involving the MacLeod family and the heartwarming and quirky people who live on the small island of Papavray. The stories are similar to the first book I read two years ago, but they make for a nice, casual read. Toward the end the book, her husband’s job, which is early computer expertise, takes them to Nevada for a few months and then a more permanent move to Southern California. Culture shock is the only way to explain the move. Being a transplant myself to California from the Midwest, it is very different. They enjoyed the lifestyle and weather, but the materialism and fast pace, not so much.
What a rich, adventurous life Nurse MacLeod must have lived! If all these stories are really true, I had no idea so much could happen on a small remote Scottish island... And if they aren't, well, there are still full of very likable people/characters, with their particular wit and wisdom, and some simple but sensible life lessons. Reading this book, I almost felt like a part of this odd community myself, and right now I could fancy a retreat in the Hebrides... Failing that, I will have to be content with reading the first volume of Nurse's memoirs.
I loved this sequel to Call the Nurse! It was great to revisit all the characters from her first book. Loved the locale, her words described this desolate island ruled by all the bad weather Nature had to throw at it.
I found this much more interesting than the books the tv show “Call the Midwife” is based off. Speaking of TV, this would be wonderful adapted as a tv show!
This is a bit like a human version of All Creatures Great and Small. The book is the second memoir by the author (I also read the first one) of her time as a nurse on an island in the Scottish Hebrides. It may have been the 1970's, but life was much like it had been 100 years before. I would have given it 3 stars, but one chapter (The Echo in the Hills) made me cry. I automatically give an extra star to any book that can make me laugh out loud, gasp in astonishment, or cry. Because of he husband's work, the family wound up in Nevada and California in the last couple chapters and it was amusing to read her observations coming from an outsider perspective. Needless to say, they were shocked by the materialism.
A thoroughly enjoyable read. The people in the village are interesting and the environment they live in, so foreign. There is such beauty described in the land they live, it is palpable. One becomes immersed in the stories and walks along with the author. This a time capture of nursing with the hours and the conditions of work. I am a community health nurse and found the stories to ring true and captivating.
I enjoyed this book as much as Call the Nurse. There is not as much actual nursing in this book. Rather it's filled with in interesting, humorous, and sometimes sad anecdotes from Nurse McCloud's experiences on the Scottish isle of Papavrey. There's a bit of a James Herriot feel to some of the stories.
Our nurse continues with her daily life and work among the locals on an island off the coast of Scotland. Then her life changes drastically when her husband takes a job in Nevada and then one in San Clemente, CA. At first, I was thoroughly vexed. I wanted to read about Scots and their lives and routines, etc. NOT NEVADA and CALIFORNIA!
But, it wasn’t so bad because our good nurse seems to have been able to fit in and enjoy life anywhere. Bloom where you are planted and all that.
Very enjoyable book. I was not so sure about the last 20%, but then really enjoyed it (no spoiler). If you like call the midwife (similar, but not) and like reading about locales The mid-1970’s before it all got crazy, and a simple yet descriptive writing style, then this is for you. It has the good parts of historical fiction, yet it is non-fiction. Mary and her family I would like to know and spend time with as their approach to life and family are simple and realistic. Practical, yet smart. This is not an edge of the seat page turner; more like a down-to-earth chat. I would have enjoyed the accents if it were audio.
Nurse Macleod paints beautiful word pictures of her life with her family, patients and crofters living in the Hebrides. Equally interesting are the family’s experiences living for several years in California and Nevada. Comparing differences and parallels of American life to their lives in Scotland and England, it was interesting to read a “Brit’s” point of view. A charming book.
This is the second book of stories about a family who moved from southern England to the Scottish Hebrides, seeking a simpler life without the constant pressure of "keeping up with the Joneses." George continued to travel frequently for his job. The two young sons loved the freedom of being allowed to explore the islands on foot or by boat. And Mary-J filled a much-needed role as the island nurse.
Most nurses today specialize and deal with the same ailments and treatments everyday, aided by a full staff of medical specialists, social service departments, and (of course) a dazzling array of multi-million dollar diagnostic equipment. A country nurse is on her own and Mary-J served as obstetric nurse, geriatric nurse, pediatric nurse, psychiatric nurse, and (frequently) referee in the famous feuds that the feisty Scots manage to keep going from one generation to the next.
Their lives were different, certainly, but in some ways even more complicated. We assume that any isolated place is pristine and untouched - a peaceful Eden where man and animals live together in harmony and happiness. In reality, any place that's untouched today is likely to be so because it's isolated (which creates its own problems and hardships) and because something (harsh climate, bad soil, etc) makes it a hard place to live. Humans are naturally lazy, which is why we constantly invent new ways to make our lives easier. Few people choose to live on rocky islands in the middle of rough seas. Those who do find satisfaction, but it comes at a price.
These islands are tough on everyone and everything. One of the few ways to make money is to raise sheep, but even the sheep have a hard time of it. The adult sheep (mostly breeding ewes) get little to eat and produce limited milk for their young. No lambs frolicking in the fields in spring here. They're half-starved and have only enough energy to survive. This is NOT paradise and the people aren't angels. What they DO have is a sense of community which is sorely lacking in modern life. In isolated areas, you don't have to love your neighbor, but you'd better be willing to help him out in a pinch. You could be the next one to need help.
Mary-J loves her work and is thrilled when her older son and his partner come to the islands to live with their new baby. What first-time grandmother doesn't want her grandchild close at hand? But time goes by and family dynamics change. The children who have loved the freedom of wild places turn into teens who want the excitement of city life. Older children must be educated, then they must find jobs. And few of them find mates who are satisfied with a harsh rural life.
In the end, Mary-J and her husband face the same dilemma of many couples who move to a isolated, rural area with their young children. The Islands no longer provide what their children need. It's a choice of staying there alone or moving as a family.
I loved the first book in this series. I liked this one, but not as much, mostly because only part of it deals with the MacLeod's life on the Islands. They relocate to the Western U.S. and make a new life there. For an English reader, her stories of their life in California and Nevada will be exotic and (probably) fascinating. To me, they aren't as interesting as her stories of the Islands.
On the other hand, I enjoyed reading their reactions to the U.S. and to American life. Some English who immigrate to the U.S. think they've died and gone to heaven. Some complain about the financial pressures and artificiality of American society. Both are correct. The MacLeods are an adventurous family and they welcomed the challenges of American life. They especially noticed and appreciated the friendliness of Americans to strangers.
She's a wonderful story teller and we're fortunate that she wrote down her stories. For those of us who are unable or willing to "pull up sticks" and seek adventure, the next best thing is reading about it. I admire this hard-working, open-hearted woman. The last book in the trilogy is about her childhood and I'm looking forward to reading it.
This is an OK follow up Call the Nurse. After meeting the residents of the scottish isle where Mary J. was a district nurse in the 60s & 70s, I looked forward to continuing the story with this community. Unfortunately, the sequel is disjointed. The island tales don't really follow a chronology there are just stories to justify various flashbacks. Then with no warning Mary J is living in the western US. Since she doesn't practice nursing, there are no tales of "her community" just her description of their new life. While it could be interesting, I felt like there were many jumps in time and I didn't have much sense of a time line.
I was most disappointed with the abrupt change in location. . .in Call the Nurse, we learn about how they decide to make the move, how they buy a croft house, how they settle in the new community but there is no explanation of the move. . .no insight to the decision, no details about Nick leaving home, not how the community reacted when she left.
I purchased this book on Kindle, on a whim, because it was cheap and because at the time we were planning a trip to the Scottish Highlands. We returned from that trip about a year ago, so... that's how long it took me to actually get around to finishing this book. Parts of it are a charming look into the way the distant islands of the Hebrides were in the 1970s, but it meanders from anecdote to anecdote with no deep consideration, and the latter 20% or so takes the author's family to California and Nevada, which was significantly less interesting, at least to someone who grew up in America, and seemed to be a significant enough departure that I wished the author had simply tied up her narrative when her family left Papavray.
Mary J continues her stories of being a district nurse on a remote Hebridean island. Most of the population follows the traditional occupations of fishing and crofting, with little change other than the introduction of cars and trucks. More often than not these seem to end up in the ditch during the long stormy winters, providing much of Mary’s business. These vignettes are a little darker than the first volume and include a couple great ghost stories. The end of the book looks at the family’s move to California to a lifestyle that could not be more different than that on a Scottish Isle. A reflective reader might be inclined to wonder which life is the better for a human soul.
Very enjoyable, if not quite up the same level of her first memoir (makes sense that she would use the top-rate material for her first foray into publishing). Fewer of the scenes are focused on medical issues; more are focused on the odd or amusing elements of life in the Hebrides. Then there is a radical shift in the last 50 pages to Nevada and California. At first I thought she was perhaps merely "padding the page count," but her observations of life in the western United States are actually enlightening. A fun and quick read.
More enjoyable stories from MacLeod, who was a community nurse on one of the more remote Scottish islands back in the 1970s, when those rural areas seemed even more remote than they do now. Some of the stories seemed relatively pointless, like she was struggling to fill up space. And honestly, I did not care for the final stories that were related after the family moved to California and Nevada. Appropriate for her memoir, I guess, but didn't seem that appropriate to the premise for the book, which is her being a nurse in Scotland. Liked this book okay, but her first one was much better.
I loved this book! after reading it as well as the first book, I feel as if Mary J and I are friends! She has an engaging way of writing, telling the many and varied adventures not only on their island in the Herbides, but in Sunny California and HAWTHORN Nevada.
I appreciate her love of people, animals, family and nature. If you, the potential reader, like me, love anything written about Scotland, and hold these things dear, you will enjoy both of her books!
After reading Macleod's first book Call the Nurse I wanted to know the rest of the story. Nurse, Come You Here! completes the story nicely. I don't know if I enjoyed/liked the second book better because I already knew the setting and characters, or if Mary J. Macleod hit her stride on the second book. The two books are a satisfying set of tales about Ms Macleod's life and work, a worthwhile memoir to read.
The way this woman writes is beautiful and so atmospheric that I could almost see the characters and the little Scottish isle in which this book takes place. I love everything Scottish so this was enjoyable at times. I’m giving it four stars because the disconnected stories from chapter to chapter didn’t hold my interest after a while, especially towards the middle.
But, this is a remarkable woman and I truly admire her.
I enjoyed the first book so much that I got this one. I like Mary's honest and yet simple description of her life in Papavray. There is something familiar and homey about it. I would love to spend a period of my life in a place as remote as this. To publish her first book at 80 years of age is a reminder that it's never too late to pursue something you love that can affect the lives of others.
A follow up to "Call the Nurse." I enjoyed more stories about the author's life as a nurse on the Hebrides in the 70s. However, the last several chapters didn't seem to belong to the book--they chronicle the family's time in Nevada and California, and while they were not uninteresting, it just didn't make sense that those chapters were there.
Having read her first book, I looked forward to the sequel and was not let down. Other reviewers thought the abrupt change from the Hebrides to America's far west was disjointed but I felt she told the story of the family's globetrotting well. I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first book.
From sentence one to the end of the book, I could hardly put it down. Once again, Mary Macleod, invites us to share her memories (funny and sad) of the days of being a district nurse on a tiny, far-flung Scottish island followed by travels to California and Saudi Arabia. This is one of those books that I love to cuddle up to when I have a few 'me' hours. I strongly recommend it to others.
Mary J. is the community nurse for for small Papavray island. As with all families and small communities, you are invited to smile with the humorous events and shed a tear over the tragedies. This was an enjoyable read until they moved to Nevada and California where there was no connection with the community as Mary J. was not nursing at that time. The first book was better.