The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore
The title is so misleading! Excellent book but not exactly what I was expecting.
Tucia fights to become a doctor, a rare thing in 1900, to be female and a doctor. She struggles and then has everything stripped from her by a monster and the repercussions reshape her life. Only through the tragedy of a hurricane does she find her place again.
Tucia joined a traveling troupe of miracle working snake oil characters to support her son and survive. The show uses her medical license to add credibility to their group. She is repulsed by the purgatives she is forced to peddle but forges on as a means of survival and caring for her son. In a group of misfits she finds family through friendships made along the way.
Tucia has to find her confidence and survive the journey with a cast of unique characters. They are all bound to Huey through blackmail and deceit. She travels with her son Toby, and a "tinkering" man named Darl.
This is a heartbreaking journey exploring two aspects of history, what is was like for a woman in the medical field in the early twentieth century and what life was like on the road with the snake oil troupes traveling just short of being individual circuses.
This story of found family, redemption, and survival will make you cry in the trenches of heartache and soar with the triumphs. Tucia is a formidable character and she is unforgettable in this volume of historical fiction. Don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case, its title. Excellent reading! 4/5⭐
I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!
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