Reconstructed from actual letters and diaries, this is the story of four young people living in Philadelphia whose lives become intertwined when the American Civil War begins in 1861. Jan is a German immigrant who begins his studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg. Emma is a Quaker who has learned survival skills growing up in a thick forest. Gabrielle, is a Southerner, was raised by her governess and wealthy Virginian father. Maura travels alone to America from Ireland to escape the potato famine and eventually enters the convent as a Sister of Mercy. Each girl grows up separated from her mother either through a natural or man-made disaster, and each is destined to choose nursing as a career. Many women served as trained nurses in both the Union and Confederate Armies caring for wounded soldiers without preference for which side they fought. It is a little known fact that many of the nurses working to save lives following the Battle of Gettysburg were Catholic nuns from the orders of Sisters of Mercy and Daughters of Charity. This is not a book about war: it is a story about love of God, love of family and friends, and love of country.
It is 1892 and most young women from poor immigrant families have little choice about their futures. Many spend long days working in crowded garment factories, earning just pennies a day. Most are expected to marry and produce children while helping family businesses and caring for aging relatives. Only a lucky few are selected to enter nurses’ training in New York City’s Lower East Side during an era of mass immigration. Eighteen-year-old Rosa Campo is the daughter of Italian immigrants and one of the lucky few chosen to train to become a nurse. While she progresses through her professional journey to save the life of an abandoned newborn and grieve with an older Jewish man whose wife passes away unexpectedly, Rosa befriends another student, Jade Ling, born in America to Chinese immigrants. As they learn to step from rooftop to rooftop when caring for poor patients who live on the least expensive top floor, Rosa and the other nurses diligently work to fulfill their dreams of healing and changing the world by advocating for healthcare for the underserved. Stepping Over Rooftops is the historical tale of a young Italian nurse trainee’s journey into adulthood as she works alongside patients, teachers, and other students to contribute to the promise of America through healthcare.
Reconstructed from actual letters and diaries, this is the story of four young people living in Philadelphia whose lives become intertwined when the American Civil War begins in 1861. Jan is a German immigrant who begins his studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg. Emma is a Quaker who has learned survival skills growing up in a thick forest. Gabrielle, is a Southerner, was raised by her governess and wealthy Virginian father. Maura travels alone to America from Ireland to escape the potato famine and eventually enters the convent as a Sister of Mercy. Each girl grows up separated from her mother either through a natural or man-made disaster, and each is destined to choose nursing as a career. Many women served as trained nurses in both the Union and Confederate Armies caring for wounded soldiers without preference for which side they fought. It is a little known fact that many of the nurses working to save lives following the Battle of Gettysburg were Catholic nuns from the orders of Sisters of Mercy and Daughters of Charity. This is not a book about war: it is a story about love of God, love of family and friends, and love of country.
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