Books like Call the Nurse by Mary J. MacLeod

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi’s poignant memoir chronicles his battle with stage IV metastatic lung cancer and his reflections on life, medicine, and mortality.

A true‑story examination of a Laotian immigrant child’s illness and the clash between Hmong cultural beliefs and Western medical practice.

A 17‑year‑old nurse starts her career at Hackney General Hospital in 1969, learning the joys and hardships of patient care while navigating the social changes of 1970s London.

When 18-year-old Mary Hazard touched down in post-war Putney to begin her nurse's training, she could never have known that it was the beginning of a colourful career that would still be going 60 years later - one of the longest ever serving NHS nurses. For Mary, raised in a strict convent in rural south Ireland, working in her first London hospital was a shocking and life-changing experience. Against a backdrop of ongoing rationing and poverty, she saw for the first time the horrors of disease, the heart-breaking outcomes of failed abortions - and faced the genuine shock of seeing a man naked for the first time! 60 Years a Nurse follows the dramas and emotions as Mary found her feet during those early years. From the firm friends she made under the ever-watchful gaze of Matron and the sisters, to the eclectic mix of Londoners she strove to care for; the Teddy Boys she danced with and the freedom of living away from home; and her own burgeoning love story, as extraordinary as it was romantic - these are the funny and heartwarming moments that helped Mary to follow her dream.

A story about life as community nurse on a remote Scottish island in the 70s. From simple insulin shots to unexpected babies. From helping a crippled lady bath to rescuing a chained woman. In sunny weather or in nasty storms.