The Medicine Woman of Galveston

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 6,799 ratings

Price: 7.59

Last update: 12-22-2024


About this item

The author of The Nurse’s Secret delivers a haunting new book based on true history perfect for readers of Kristin Hannah, Ellen Marie Wiseman, and Donna Everhart. This spellbinding story of a determined female doctor pushed into life as part of a menacing swindler’s traveling medicine show in order to support her son is rife with unflinching prose and set against the backdrop of the devastating Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

"Perfect on so many levels that I don't even know where to begin." —Addison Armstrong, Author of The War Librarian

Once a trailblazer in the field of medicine, Dr. Tucia Hatherley hasn’t touched a scalpel or stethoscope since she made a fatal mistake in the operating theater. Instead, she works in a corset factory, striving to earn enough to support her disabled son. When even that livelihood is threatened, Tucia is left with one option—to join a wily, charismatic showman named Huey and become part of his traveling medicine show.

Her medical license lends the show a pretense of credibility, but the cures and tonics Tucia is forced to peddle are little more than purgatives and bathwater. Loathing the duplicity, even as she finds uneasy kinship with the other misfit performers, Tucia vows to leave as soon as her debts are paid and start a new life with her son—if Huey will ever let her go.

When the show reaches Galveston, Texas, Tucia tries to break free from Huey, only to be pulled even deeper into his schemes. But there is a far greater reckoning ahead, as a September storm becomes a devastating hurricane that will decimate the Gulf Coast—and challenge Tucia to recover her belief in medicine, in the goodness of others—and in herself.

From the Publisher

FICTION, Historical, 20th Century, General
FICTION, Historical, 20th Century, General
FICTION, Historical, 20th Century, General
The Nurse's Secret The Second Life of Mirielle West The Undertaker's Assistant Between Earth and Sky
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Top reviews from the United States

MidwestMommaof2
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical fiction masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2024
I stumbled upon Amanda Skenandore’s novels in recent years, first reading The Nurse’s Secret. After that novel I proceeded to binge all her previous work as fast as I could buy them. This most recent novel didn’t disappoint.

Another historical fiction masterpiece where Amanda weaves together the characters and storylines so artfully that each character develops effortlessly and yet somehow in perfect time with the larger story. She strings together details in a way that draws readers into a vivid storyline— it reads like a feature film! Her writing style is so descriptive it feels like you’re there alongside the characters. Like always, the last chunk of the novel is so captivating that sleep can wait for another day as I find myself enthralled and invested so deeply into the characters that I read for hours into the night just to know the ending.

As a practicing registered nurse in modern healthcare, I deeply appreciate Amanda’s integration of historically accurate medical practices and ideologies along with complex historical events and cultural practices. Overall— another excellent piece of literature by an amazing author.
April Dougherty
4.0 out of 5 stars good read
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2024
I enjoyed this book. It told an interesting story with a bit of history intertwined… true to life characters! Worth the read
tmwill
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2024
Story has great flow. Gives one a sense of what living in that time period was like. For everyone, women, men and children.
Main character is drawn well, beautiful but with numerous flaws. She does find love in an unexpected person. And throughout she is a devoted mother to her special child. Enjoy!
Verity Brown
3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful supporting characters can't save the weak protagonist
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2024
I picked up this book because I'm familiar with the Galveston hurricane of 1900, and because the plot sounded interesting. I enjoyed finding out more about medicine shows (I hadn't realized that they were actual shows with performances, rather than just 'infomercials.' And I really liked all the supporting characters. Even Huey is wonderful to hate.

But the main character is another matter. I had a very difficult time believing that Tucia had ever had the gumption to go to medical school. If all of her negative self-talk is meant to make us feel sorry for her, it didn't work for me. She appears, objectively speaking, to be just as useless as she (and others) think she is. Nor is it believable that she is suddenly functional at the end. She didn't finish her internship, so how does she have surgery-under-pressure skills?

It didn't help that I found three typos (mostly the wrong word substituted for the correct one) in the first thirty pages or so.

This could easily have been a four-star read if not for an unbelievable main character who is full of victim tropes and not much else.
Carmen Gibson
4.0 out of 5 stars Traveling Medical Show
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2024
The author takes on a journey of a woman in early 1900s. One with big dreams as women were taking steps beyond being wives and mothers. Though the dream was big, she took big steps forward. But on the ladder up it's not hard to find people only to willing to push you down. How far can one fall before you are paralyzed in the failure? The book is not about the hurricane that hit Galveston as I had hoped. But the party of the book that does cover it is very interesting. In the end I learned a lot of things about those traveling shows. It was a good read.
Karla Bohn
5.0 out of 5 stars Desperate times call for desperate measures!
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2024
This book took me on a journey through a single Mother of a special needs Down Syndrome son to keep him safe and fed in earlier times. She is a trained Doctor in a time where it is not condoned or understood that woman can do that well. Survival makes us do things that are possibly underhanded but necessary to keep going. Historical facts are great, settings very believable, and the characters keep you guessing what next! Worth reading for sure!
Baloo E.
5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting and entertaining read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2024
I chose this book because the title intrigued me since I live very close to Galveston (on the mainland, but we go to Galveston regularly). I’ve always heard of the great storm of 1900 and how Galveston was never the same. I loved picturing the locations she talked about- Postoffice Street (definitely not full of brothels any longer… in fact one of my favorite coffee shops is there), and Murdoch’s! Murdoch’s was rebuilt but is now a gift shop. Loved this historical fiction novel based on true events.
M Bell
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2024
Good book, but so sad. Tusia had such a rough time the whole book. She forms unlikely friendships with others, which is sweet, but can never become successful until the very end of the book.

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