Mary J. MacLeod

Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud owners of a near-derelict croft house—a farmer’s stone cottage—on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse. Call the Nurse is her account of the enchanted years she and her family spent there, coming to know its folk as both patients and friends. In anecdotes that are by turns funny, sad, moving, and tragic, she recalls them all, the crofters and their laird, the boatmen and tradesmen, young lovers and forbidding churchmen. Against the old-fashioned island culture and the grandeur of mountain and sea unfold indelible stories: a young woman carried through snow for airlift to the hospital; a rescue by boat; the marriage of a gentle giant and the island beauty; a ghostly encounter; the shocking discovery of a woman in chains; the flames of a heather fire at night; an unexploded bomb from World War II; and the joyful, tipsy celebration of a ceilidh. Gaelic fortitude meets a nurse’s compassion in these wonderful true stories from rural Scotland.

True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle

Call the Nurse

Mary J. Macleod and her husband left the London area for an idyllic place to raise their young children in the late sixties, and they found the island of Papavray in the Scottish Hebrides. There they bought a croft house on a "small acre" of land, and Mary J. (also known as Julia) became the district nurse. At the age of eighty, she first recounted her family's adventures in her debut, Call the Nurse, where she introduced readers to the austere beauties of the island and the hardy charm and warmth of the islanders. The anecdotes in this new volume take us to the end of her stay on Papavray, after which the MacLeod family left for California. Once again we meet the crofters Archie, Mary, and Fergie, and other friends. There are stories of troubles, joy, and tragedy, of children lost and found, the cow that wandered into the kitchen, a distraught young mother who strides into the icy surf with her infant child, the ghostly apparition that returns after death to reveal the will in a sewing box. There are accidents and broken bones, twisters that come in from the sea, and acts of simple courage and uncommon generosity. Here again, a nurse's compassion meets Gaelic fortitude in these true tales of a bygone era.

Nurse, Come You Here!

Disillusioned with the way of life in the south of England in the early 1970s, Nurse Cameron moves to a small, remote and beautiful island in the Hebrides with her husband and two young children, where she becomes the district nurse. In Peat, Smoke and Porridge, we are introduced to the crofters, the laird, the doctor, boatmen and members of the small community as the nurse goes about her duties. Joy and sadness, hilarity and piety are set against the old fashioned island culture, the glory of the mountains and sea, and the wild weather, while jolly ceilidhs and humorous events rub shoulders with real danger, adventure and tragedy, as the nurse attends to her patients and gets to know the islanders and their sometimes bizarre ways. A young girl suffering from leukaemia is carried through the snow by the village men to be airlifted to hospital; a woman, who had been held prisoner in a farmhouse for years, is discvered and rescued. Elsewhere in the book, there is a ghostly encounter, the exploits of the nurse's children cause concern and a family dog wanders into a wedding and causes an uproar. Peat, Smoke and Porridge is a charming account of a nurse's life and work on a remote Hebridean island provides a fascinating snapshot of community life on a small island in a bygone era.

The Island Nurse

For fans of James Herriot and Call the Midwife. A Wall Street Journal Bestseller. Over 100,000 sold. Gaelic fortitude meets a nurse’s compassion in these wonderful true stories from rural Scotland. “Julia MacLeod shares unique and enchanting experiences as a nurse in rural Scotland. Her stories will ring true with every nurse—or anyone—who has ever cared for a family or a community, whether in Scotland or America. Call the Nurse is a delightful read.” —LeAnn Thieman, author Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod (known to all as Julia) and her husband encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud owners of a near-derelict croft house—a farmer’s stone cottage—on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse. Call the Nurse is her account of the first enchanted years she and her family spent there, coming to know its folk as both patients and friends. Call the Nurse is a treasure of sweet nostalgia.

Mary J. MacLeod

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