This was such a good historical fiction story about a down on her luck unwed mother and rare female doctor working in a corset factory to survive and support her disabled son only to find herself without a job and deep in debt.

Forced to make a deal with a devilish conman and owner of a travelling medicine show, Tucia finds herself befriending the other misfits, falling in love and learning to like medicine again all while trying to reconcile the deception she has to peddle against her will.

Moving, compelling and good on audio narrated by Amanda Stibling, this was a great read and perfect for fans of authors like Audrey Blake and Alice Hoffman's Museum of extraordinary things. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

CW: rape, gun violence

Disability rep: child with Down syndrome ; trichoctillomania (hair pulling compulsion)

TW for sexual assault/abuse and trichotillomania.

This book started a bit uncomfortable for me, it was a hard first 10%. That said, it's worth the wait because the rest of the story is phenomenal, and I would say that part was all meant to be world-building to understand why the character is making the decisions she does later. I do think some of it could have been cut, but overall it makes sense. I also will note that the trichotillomania shown in the book is situated to look like it is healed as the person gets more mentally healthy and has a more stable environment, which may not be the best for people who struggle with this disorder.

This was a really great redemption story, and the characters are all very well fleshed out. I appreciated the perspectives of different points of view throughout the book that you see through the MC's interactions with each character.

I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes a little karma in their books.

What an amazing historical fiction book. I love books of that genre and this one was a very different read for me. It was interesting to read about a female physician in the 1900s. The primary character, Tucia Hatherly was a formidable individual. Her willingness to step outside of the normal expectations for women in that time period was amazing. And how she managed to survive poverty, raise a child with Down’s Syndrome as a single parent, and prove herself to be a worthwhile doctor was admirable. Being shown the life of the people who were part of the traveling medicine show was interesting and enlightening. The author obviously did a great deal of research about the time period and what life was like on the road with a traveling show. Though the amount of time spent in Galveston was only toward the end of the book ... making the title a little misleading ... the book was a wonderful read. I learned so much and found myself cheering for Tucia as she realizes that the performers who are part of the group have stories behind their facade. As she gets to know them and appreciate their contributions, she develops relationships that make a difference in her life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

This was my first of Amanda Skenabdore’s books and I had heard such good things about it. The premise for this novel was a woman named Tucia is a former doctor after a tragic event during a surgery goes badly. Years later and more and more in debt Tucia has found herself employed wherever will take her. After getting fired a man named Huey comes to her door offering to pay off her debts in exchange for her to join his traveling medicine. With her son Tucia agrees with very few other choices.

This is a historical fiction and depicts it only how life for women was in the 1900s but also the devastation of a hurricane that hit Galveston during this time. I felt like this one moved pretty slowly and it didn’t really capture my attention. This book just wasn’t one that grabbed me like some others have recently. If you are a fan of slower paced historical fiction you might enjoy this one more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Guys, I loved this one so much. Easy five star rating from me. I've liked everything I've read by this author to date but this is up there as a favorite. Read the burb. It mentions a hurricane. I kept waiting for this dang hurricane and it doesn't show up until the very end of the book. Everything leading up to this point was so interesting. I'd say that I became mostly enamoured by the main and side characters of this book. Our main character is Tucia who flew through medical school and began interning when something terrible happened to her which caused trauma which she battles throughout the book. She has a seriously ill child (cruelly called slow or deformed by strangers) she is the sole parent of. He is her reaso for living and eeking by on a miserable and lonely existance far from the hope she once had of being a female doctor, still a really unusal thing of the time. Tucia gets offered a deal she can't refuse to be the licensed doctor in a traveling medicine show. It goes against her morals but it gets she and her son out of crippling financial ruin. Here is where she meets some wonderful side characters who also travel with this show. I don't want to give anything away but I loved so many of these characters and their dynamics. I won't say anything else to give the plot away. I will encourage everyone to grab this one. I found it a pure pleasure to read.

This book was something! The idea of the travelling medicine man and the real female doctor as a side show to make money.... I was right there for it.

I really enjoyed the book, it did wan in places but of man did I get right invested in this book.

Excellent character development, brilliant plot.

4 stars

I just finished reading this book… maybe I would give this book a better review if I digested it a bit longer, but I found it a bit dull. While it holds your interest long enough to hold some hope it will get better.. it just doesn’t. The star of the book is too much of a mush… would have liked a stronger heroine. Everyone in the book seems to just accept their situation… and the ending was really too easy… Sorry…

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

The beginning of the book seemed a bit more ‘historical fiction formula’ than Skenandore’s other books, with most males being ‘bad guys.’ The author gives loads of pertinent information on Tucia, a female physician who was not longer practicing in 1900 due to men traumatizing her. It took half the book for the traveling show to get to Galveston, and a bit more time for Tucia to return to her profession.

I really enjoyed the ‘side’ background stories of members of the Traveling Medicine Show. They added to my understanding of the book and the times.

The narrator was excellent and made the story come alive. She was easy to understand and the voices were clearly differentiated.

Make sure to read the Author’s Notes at the end. Skenandore gives interesting information on the role of native Americans in traveling medicine shows. The Bureau of Indian Affairs sometimes contracted with these shows to provide Native American performers who were ‘conscripted.’ In the 1890s less than 1 % of American doctors were women, growing to 6 % in thirty years. In 1970 women accounted for just 7% of American physicians, whereas today they make up 38% of doctors. The author also lists resources she used. Discussion questions are included for book groups for further ponderings.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to have read The Nurse’s Secret by author, Amanda Skenandore. When I saw that she had written a new historical fiction novel, The Medicine Woman of Galveston, I was very excited to read it. Both of the books that I have now read by Amanda Skenandore have had to do with strong and capable women who were both associated with the medical field in different capacities. Since both of my daughters are in the medical field, one a doctor and one a nurse practitioner, I found both of these books captivating and interesting. The Medical Woman of Galveston explored the many obstacles women physicians had to face during the early 1900’s and the resentment and anger that male physicians felt toward their women counterparts who had completed their medical training and studies. Amanda Skenandore’s research into this time period which included traveling medicine shows, the snake oil and salves that they sold to the unassuming and gullible locals who attended their shows and the natural disaster of the hurricane that hit Galveston in September of 1900 was impressive and very informative. I listened to the audiobook that was narrated very well by Amanda Stribling. Her performance allowed her to distinguish between the characters easily and distinctively.

Becoming a woman doctor in late 1800’s to the early 1900’s was not an easy feat. Tucia Hatherley learned that the hard way. She was met with opposition from her stepmother and fellow male doctors at every step she took. Tucia knew that she had to study twice as hard as any of the male doctors she encountered. Despite everything that Tucia was confronted with, she became of the first female doctors to graduate from the all female medical school in Chicago. If anything, Tucia continued to have to prove herself to her male counterparts at every turn. When forced into performing a procedure she had no business performing in the operating theatre, everything that could have gone wrong had and she was forced to take the blame for losing that patient and leave the field of medicine. The results of that procedure haunted Tucia for years. Everything that Tucia had worked so hard for was snatched away from her by an imposing and cruel male doctor.

Eight years later, Tucia had found a small apartment for herself and her disabled young son, Toby. She was working at a factory that produced corsets. Tucia had accumulated a sizable debt and the manager of the corset factory was not very forgiving when Tucia often arrived late to work. Her young son required her attention and the time often got away from her. This was often the cause for Tucia’s tardiness to work. She really needed the job but when her boss placed Tucia in a very uncomfortable position, Tucia met the limits to her patience and did something that cost her the job she so badly needed.

Just when Tucia’s luck was at its lowest point, she was offered an opportunity that was hard to pass up. A familiar looking man but one that Tucia knew nothing about appeared at her apartment door a day or so after Tucia had been fired from her job at the corset factory. His name was Hugh Horn but preferred to be called Huey. Tucia learned that he owned a ran a traveling medicine show. Huey was in search of a real doctor who possessed a medical license. Even though Tucia had not practiced medicine for more than eight years, Huey didn’t seem to care. His show just needed a real doctor that possessed a medical license to authenticate the show. Huey seemed to know everything about Tucia even though they were complete strangers. When Huey offered to pay off Tucia’s loan she agreed to work for him. Tucia hated everything that Huey represented and stood for. It was everything that went against what Tucia believed in but Tucia knew that she couldn’t afford to say no to his offer. Her plan was to repay Huey as quickly as she could and then she and her young son, Toby, would leave and start their life over again. Right now, Tucia had to think of what was best for Toby and going with Huey was the best choice for right now.

When Tucia and Toby arrived with Huey at the sight where the traveling medicine show was going to perform its various acts she wondered again if she had made a mistake by accepting Huey’s proposition. Tucia and Toby met the other members of the traveling medicine show. Each of the members had their own stories, backgrounds and reasons for why they had joined the traveling medicine show annd were compliant to Huey’s orders. Over time, Tucia learned their stories and even became friends with some of them. Very quickly, Tucia learned how deceitful and dishonest Huey was. It soon became apparent to Tucia that Huey was interested in making as big of a profit for himself even if it meant exploiting the members of the company. He was a ruthless and self absorbed man. With each new location the traveling medicine show settled in, Huey expected Tucia to do more and more things that she was uncomfortable with. Most of the things Huey expected from Tucia were either dishonest or were of the nature of putting her in a compromising position.

Then in late August to early September, Huey decided to bring the show to Galveston, Texas. It was the first time ever that the show was to perform in Galveston. The traveling medicine show had only been in Galveston for a few short days when Galveston became the target of a monster hurricane with unrelenting intensity and consequences. What would happen to the island of Galveston, its inhabitants and the members of the traveling medicine show?

Amanda Skenandore was able to combine just the right combination of facts with fiction to make The Medicine Woman of Galveston believable and so compelling. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in The Medicine Woman of Galveston. I especially admired Tucia for how she always put Toby’s needs before her own. Amanda Skenandore portrayed Tucia as a mother first and foremost, as a strong and intelligent woman, as a woman who showed compassion for others, as a good and loyal friend and confidant, as a woman who learned how to be confident again, as a woman who knew what she had to do to survive and succeed and as a woman who was capable of helping others by using her knowledge of medicine. I had heard about the great hurricane of Galveston but was not aware of all the destruction, damage and loss of lives it inflicted. I really enjoyed listening to The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore and highly recommend it. I look forward to reading the next book Amanda Skenandore writes.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for allowing me to listen to The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story and the characters introduced. It was informative about the times and also about each characters story and experiences.

Audiobook only: One thing that I noticed is that the narrator mispronounced words several times. This was a little distracting - example she said "troupe" (as in a circus troupe and pronounced "troop") as "trope" (like a romance book trope) - there were other examples of this and I really should have written them down.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙶𝚊𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚢 𝙰𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊 𝚂𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝙰𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐.🎧📖🪷
Set in the 1900s the story is about Dr Tucia Hatherley, a medicine practitioner👩‍⚕️ who was struggling to support herself and her disabled son. A fatal mistake in her practice compelled her to have doubts about her ability as a doctor. Her tragedy led her to join a travelling medicine show and go against her medical ethics. But At last, a natural calamity challenged her medical skills and she got her confidence back as a Doctor and on her skills.😎

The author @amanda skenandore has perfectly penned ✍️ the story, describing life in a travelling medicine show, the life of the performers, slowly revealing their backstories too! I loved how she put a touch of romance in the story❤️❤️. She has well written the FMC, Dr. Tucia, a very strong and irrepressible woman. I loved her braveness and what limits she could go to save her dignity and respect!

🕯️This book is and perfect example of how people take advantage of other's tragedies!

🍃Overall, I loved the audiobook, listening to it gave me a different feel! The narration was also beautifully done. A 💯 recommendation to historical fiction lovers!🤓
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Thank you @ Netgalley for the audiobook 😊.

The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore and narrated by Amanda Stribling is an immersive blend of Historical Fiction and Western that makes it's own niche in each genre. I am not a reader of Westerns, but this is now the second I have listened to in respect of the Western travelling show (in this case, a medicine show) and I am fascinated

Dr Tucia Hatherley was forced to leave the surgical field after a fatal mistake during an operation. Once a trailblazer in the field, she is forced to work in a corset factory, until even that livelihood is put in jeopardy. Dr Hatherley needs to work to support her disabled son and as such, she goes against her better judgement to take the first opportunity that presents itself, to join a travelling medicine show

Amanda Stribling narrates the audiobook with panache and each character is portrayed with laser accurate continuity. Perfection

Amanda Skenandore creates a powerful, independant FMC in Dr Tucia Hatherley in anera where women were not often recognised in professional fields. Skenandore combines fact and fiction arrtfully to create an intriguing novel that will have readers (and listeners) rapt

Thank you to Netgalley, Highbridge Audio, Amanda Skenandore and the narrator Amanda Stribling for this ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

4.5 stars rounded up
I love historical fiction but needed a break from WWII novels so decided to give this one a go – I’m so pleased I did!
Set in the 1900’s, this story deals with inequality, trauma, anxiety, compassion, society’s treatment of ‘misfits’ at the time, and so much more. Tucia is a strong woman who trained to be a doctor, but after a traumatic experience is so crippled by anxiety that she can no longer perform her duties and must do whatever it takes to support her son. Her story is heartbreaking and felt so real. Huey is a conman through and through, taking advantage of those unfortunate enough to have met hard times. His true colours show as the story progresses. The characters are well developed and the reader gets a glimpse of the past for each main character and this tells how they came to be part of the travelling medicine show.
This book made me stop and think about so many things as I was reading. I found I could relate to each of the characters and their experiences, they were all so believable and will stay with me for a long time. I enjoyed the history woven into the story, it all tied in together nicely. There are some open door romance scenes, but very tame and only a brief mention.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration by Amanda Stribling. She gave each character a voice of their own. They were easily distinguishable so I was never confused about who was talking. I would love to read the author notes that appear at the end of the book - I wish audio included them!
I highly recommend this book, and will be looking for more books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, HighBridge Audio and the author for a free audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Skenandore has become an “auto read” for me. I enjoy how she takes strong female protagonists and inserts them into a historical account of an often lesser known (to me) historical event. The Medicine Woman of Galveston centers on Tucia Hatherley, a woman physician with such promise, who left medicine after a devastatingly tragic error during an operation. She was barely getting by, taking care of her disabled son Toby, in a corset factory when she was approached by “Hughie” of the Amazing Adolphus traveling medicine show. Crippled by debt, Tucia agrees to join his gang of misfits, travelling the countryside—performing a variety show and peddling “snakeskin oil” to gullible, uneducated country folk. Tucia becomes indebted to the crooked, dishonest Hughie as a result. Ultimately the traveling show sets up roots in Galveston, where they find themselves caught in the middle of a devastating hurricane. It is here that Tucia is able to allay the fear of her earlier tragic medical error, and rediscover her passion for medicine.
I enjoyed the array of characters—the gang of misfits that society had labelled “freaks”. There were genuine connections between the troupe, and I fell in love with each one of them. I enjoyed how the story would break to gives a brief history of each character scattered throughout the story, so we understood the backstory of how they all ended up under Hughie’s thumb on the travelling show. My only complaint with the story was, given the synopsis and title of the story, that I expected the story to center more on the Galveston Hurricane. In fact, the troupe didn’t even arrive in Galveston until near the end of the story, and the hurricane only played a small portion at the very end of the novel.

Amanda Stribling did a wonderful job narrating the story. Her voice was engaging and kept my interest on the storyline.

Man that was a sad if inspiring read! I hate when the savior turns out to be the ultimate villain. I love a happy ending so the fact that Dr. Tucia Hatherley got one in the end made me super happy! Even better her villain got what was coming to him! This was my 1st book by Amanda Skenandore but will not be my last!

#TheMedicineWomanofGalveston
#NetGalley

I was disappointed in this one. I never connected with the main character of Tucia. I found her to be an inconsistent character that had a lot going on. She suffered from trichotillomania, or hair pulling disorder, and when her anxiety sky-rocketed, the itch to pull her hair out would get worse leading her to feel ashamed, paranoid that everyone was looking at her. That in and of itself was a lot to deal with. It was made worse by her obvious PTSD from something that happened when she was training to be a doctor, which apparently caused her to abandon her career aspirations of being a doctor despite other responsibilities that I felt should have taken precedence.

Tucia defied the position of women in society at that time and trained to be a doctor prior to the beginning of this story. She attended a women’s medical school, admitting to finding her place comfortably among the females there that she had not found with the other female relationships in her life. She cared not for what her stepmother or the rest of society thought of her aspirations, and yet I’m supposed to believe that she does now, to the point of crippling anxiety and worry about what the members of a snake oil salesman’s show say about her when she leaves the room.

In addition, she has the responsibility of feeding and housing a child, not just any child, but a child with special needs that has more requirements than just food and a roof over his head. Yet, she’s more worried about the morality of selling snake oil and the shame she feels at tearing her hair out. Don’t even get me started on her signing an ambiguous contract with said snake oil salesman. Who is this woman? An intelligent doctor and caring mother or a naïve, anxiety ridden girl with an exacting morality. I had a problem reconciling all of this into one character. The anxiety disorders and their manifestations combined with the lack of a support system just doesn’t account for all of this.

Other reviews have made the comments that the actual advertised plot of the Galveston hurricane of 1900 takes up little space in this novel, so I will add only that if you’re looking for a historical fiction novel set around the hurricane of 1900, I’d recommend The Promise by Ann Weisgarber.

This one just didn’t work for me due to the protagonist. The writing was good, and I would be open to reading another book by this author in hopes of it working better for me. I listened to portions of this novel via audiobook that was expertly narrated by Amanda Stribling and switched the egalley when convenient.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Books and HighBridge Audio for a copy provided for an honest review.

Thank You, NetGalley and the publishers to let me listen to The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore.

I enjoyed this tale of a woman trying to make it on her own but shackled by circumstances.

While listening to this, I was reminded of Water for Elephants. So, you can imagine, the book was well written and the story made you feel for the characters.

I'm definitely going to recommend this.

Thank You

This book was entertaining the whole way through, but I have to say I was in the edge of my seat listening to the last few chapters. The suspense was almost unbearable! I’ve liked reading books of circuses, traveling shows, etc. They are always filled with a full cast of interesting characters.

Trucia is one of the few women in medicine at the time and thanks to a fatal mistake in the operating room not long after she got her license, she currently isn’t practicing. She’s hit hard times and reluctantly agrees to an offer by Huey, a showman with a traveling medicine show. She comes to find it’s not anything like she was told it would be and is forced to do more than she wants to repay her debts. Through it all she finds friendships and a new family to rely on.

I am thankful for the chance to listen to this story. I liked the narrator and the plot, but I couldn’t finish it. It just didn’t grab me. However, it was well written and interesting, if you are interested in historical fiction.

Outstanding! Wonderful characters, wonderful narration .This story takes you on a journey, A woman Dr with a disabled son finds herself indebted to a horrible man, who has a traveling side show . Each character has a story , loved it .