What do you think?
Rate this book
Children's Hospital
Recounts the moving, real-life stories of six children--and their parents, doctors, and nurses--afflicted with a variety of maladies who are patients in a children's hospital
- GenresNonfictionMedical
532 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1987
5 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Peggy Anderson
64 books6 followersPeggy Anderson (July 14, 1938 – January 17, 2016) was an American author and journalist, best known for her 1979 work Nurse, which profiled the work of a nurse and sold millions of copies.
Anderson was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1938, to Catherine Anderson, a nurse, and her husband Wilbert Anderson. She graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and then joined the Peace Corps. While with the Peace Corps, she taught English for two years in the early 1960s in Togo. After her time in the Peace Corps, she worked as a reporter at The Washington Monthly
and The Philadelphia Inquirer (from 1969-1973).
She wrote three well-known books: The Daughters (1972), about the Daughters of the American Revolution; Nurse (1979); and Children's Hospital (1985).
Nurse was a major best-seller. The book was an account of the working life of a nurse, based on an pseudonymized series of interviews with a 27-year-old nurse named Philadelphia. The book was made into a movie and a TV series
starring Michael Learned, which won an Emmy award. It was suggested that she title the book "Scar Wars" (playing on the recent popularity of the film "Star Wars"), but Anderson stuck with the less sensationalistic title Nurse. The nurse, nicknamed "Mary Benjamin" in the book, at the time insisted on her anonymity, and "steadfastly protected her identity". She was later identified as Mary Fish and became a life-long friend of Anderson's. For the book, Fish received $2,000 and 5% of profits from the book, for meeting with Anderson for 60 interviews, of two to six hours each.
Anderson's 1972 book The Daughters "was a critical success and financial flop", providing her only a $2,500 advance.
Anderson also had two incomplete manuscripts, one about the murder of her father in Chicago, and another about hospice nursing. The latter book was "almost done" when Anderson died of lung cancer.
(from Wikipedia)
Anderson was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1938, to Catherine Anderson, a nurse, and her husband Wilbert Anderson. She graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and then joined the Peace Corps. While with the Peace Corps, she taught English for two years in the early 1960s in Togo. After her time in the Peace Corps, she worked as a reporter at The Washington Monthly
and The Philadelphia Inquirer (from 1969-1973).
She wrote three well-known books: The Daughters (1972), about the Daughters of the American Revolution; Nurse (1979); and Children's Hospital (1985).
Nurse was a major best-seller. The book was an account of the working life of a nurse, based on an pseudonymized series of interviews with a 27-year-old nurse named Philadelphia. The book was made into a movie and a TV series
starring Michael Learned, which won an Emmy award. It was suggested that she title the book "Scar Wars" (playing on the recent popularity of the film "Star Wars"), but Anderson stuck with the less sensationalistic title Nurse. The nurse, nicknamed "Mary Benjamin" in the book, at the time insisted on her anonymity, and "steadfastly protected her identity". She was later identified as Mary Fish and became a life-long friend of Anderson's. For the book, Fish received $2,000 and 5% of profits from the book, for meeting with Anderson for 60 interviews, of two to six hours each.
Anderson's 1972 book The Daughters "was a critical success and financial flop", providing her only a $2,500 advance.
Anderson also had two incomplete manuscripts, one about the murder of her father in Chicago, and another about hospice nursing. The latter book was "almost done" when Anderson died of lung cancer.
(from Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 25, 2013
My home away from home for the first 9 months of my life.I liked this book.But some parts made me cry.There's a young teen boy with cf in the book and a little baby boy who was a preemie.I'd highly recommend this beautiful book.
February 1, 2016
I read this book because a friend said she read it years ago and it was what made her want to become a nurse. I'm so glad I did. It will stay with me for a long time.
December 15, 2024
dr keatts (one of my obgyn preceptors) got me this book during my first month of rotations bc she said that this was the book that inspired her to become a doctor, and she hoped that it would inspire me.
this book is heavy, and especially after the attachment i felt to each one of the patients, it was a hard read. but it’s the reality of medicine. this book along with me just finishing my peds rotation (which i liked SO MUCH more than i ever thought i would) have put pediatric medicine on my radar for the future. so, ty dr keatts for that - this book sincerely has become such an inspiration to me and i’m unlikely to forget it.
also, medicines wild bc a lot of these presentations were things i SAW during my peds rotation and the management is almost identical - and considering this book came out in the 80s means it’s astounding how advanced it was *then* and then how far it’s come *now*.
solid read. 5 stars.
this book is heavy, and especially after the attachment i felt to each one of the patients, it was a hard read. but it’s the reality of medicine. this book along with me just finishing my peds rotation (which i liked SO MUCH more than i ever thought i would) have put pediatric medicine on my radar for the future. so, ty dr keatts for that - this book sincerely has become such an inspiration to me and i’m unlikely to forget it.
also, medicines wild bc a lot of these presentations were things i SAW during my peds rotation and the management is almost identical - and considering this book came out in the 80s means it’s astounding how advanced it was *then* and then how far it’s come *now*.
solid read. 5 stars.
April 22, 2016
It is amazing to read about how much medical science in trying to cure children of diseases and how much science had progressed then and then be able to realize how much it has progressed even more since then to now. Also it is amazing to read what such little bodies can go through and handle to fight these diseases and injuries or problems. The hospital also sounded like an amazing place for not only the care of children but for the families as well and everyone's well -being.
June 11, 2012
Heavy reading material. The book follows the illness of six different children and their hospital stays. Lots of background information about their illnesses and families, doctors and nurses. It was hard to read, not because it was sad or depressing, but just so heavy.
August 21, 2012
I first read this as a senior in high school, on a band trip. The children's stories caught my attention, and as I read, I felt like I was right there in the hospital with them. I was happy when the kids got well and went home, and I cried when they didn't. Bravo!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews