A Dislocated World: Letters from a World War II Surgeon

by Mary Sisson, Lee Kendall

By December 1941, Lee Gordon Kendall was a respected surgeon in Massachusetts with a new house, a loving wife, and two adorable little girls. He was also a secret recruit in the war against the Nazis. Lee was part of the 5th General Hospital, which had been formed by alumni of Harvard Medical School. Following the official entry of the United States into World War II, he served in hospitals across Great Britain until after VE Day. He regularly wrote his children and his wife, Priscilla, who was a registered nurse and his confidant in medical matters. Lee’s commitment to surgery and his social connections to men like Elliott Carr Cutler and Robert Zollinger put him in a unique position to observe the war as well as the medical advances that came with it. His letters—touching, charming, and at times offensive and profane—provide a fascinating chronicle of a time of great change. (70,000 words)

Paperback

Published April 14, 2021

About the author

Mary Sisson is an award-winning writer, editor, and journalist. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English and American Language and Literature from Harvard University, and she has a master’s degree in Journalism from New York University, where she received the Edwin Diamond Award, the department’s highest honor. She has contributed to award-winning books ranging in topic from terrorism to food to history to technology. None of this means she’s actually any more qualified to write about aliens, space Marines, or pixies than the next person, but she carries on regardless. See what she’s up to by visiting marysisson.com!