Dear Friends,

 

It is the year 2020, the year of the nurse, the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale. She was a woman who never set out to build a saintly reputation, to become a myth, or to be surrounded by an ethos of hero worship. What she did do was set out to break societal bonds and familial expectations to fulfill what she felt was her life’s destiny and purpose. Like most good nurses, she felt called to the profession. 

 

As always, with any legend, real and true life is hidden. What precedes the lore are actual choices and tipping points. She was, above all the merits and stories and books and what she called “fuzz buzz”, a woman who fought for a life of her own, a wild swan’s life.  

          
How are we to know anything in the middle of our actions? And how can we ever guess if we will inspire someone years down the road? Just like Florence, we can’t know. But we can answer the call to our passions and our work. Answering the call was up to her; but what happened after that was not. How could she have known what was to pass? She did the next right thing and didn’t give up. She persevered and she suffered and she never moved from the utter assurance that she was to be a nurse.

I was inspired to tell these lesser-known stories of Florence’s life because before I was a novelist, I was a nurse, a pediatric nurse with a master’s degree in child health. I understood Florence’s obsession and passion. Of course, I didn’t need to break through societal or familial forbiddance of such a career; I was supported and even encouraged in my choice! And I know that much of that change is due to the bravery and influence of Florence Nightingale. 

I hope that in WILD SWAN you met Florence well before mythology took her name and changed it to The Lady with the Lamp. And I hope she inspires you as she inspired me! 

 

— Patti