Family History (1860-1950) of a Doctor's Daughter

At last, a family history that won't put you to sleep…. Book starts with the emigration of the author's eight great-grandparents from northern Europe and ends with her father's military stint during World War II. It presents high points from each character’s life within a historical context. Thus, it explains: the role of religious persecution, smallpox vaccination and potatoes in pushing people out of 19th century Europe; how America's grain surpluses contributed to alcoholism; how early American society protected the virtue of frisky teenagers; how the U.S. military got involved in war-torn China during World War II; and how the health care community finally succeeded in eradicating tuberculosis in America. Characters include: an alcoholic father (John) who deserted his family and whose eulogy stated only, "Thus ended a life ruined by whiskey."; Oscar, a fiery "tent preacher" who traveled the Midwestern prairies with a stirring gospel message; the Swedish beauty (Hilma) who became his wife and brought him the tenderness he sorely needed; a teenage boy (Lambert) who made good money working Burma's oilfields during World War I; a young woman (Anna), who found marriage and stepmothering more than she bargained for; the dating experiences of a young nursing student (Margie) in Los Angeles; and the tribulations of an army medic (Paul) trying to provide medical care for Australian war-brides and their babies. Book discusses adult topics with insight and compassion. The overall tone is wholesome, uplifting, educational, and ultimately patriotic. With 16 pages of bibliographic notes, the book fully documents its reference sources. For readers wanting to write their own family histories, Walstad's book provides a worthy example. The author (Diana Walstad) worked for many years in medical research at UNC (Chapel Hill) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS). Her previous book Ecology of the Planted Aquarium (first published in 1999) is well-regarded. Cover picture (1946) shows the author, her father, and the SS Monterey just before the ship pulled out of San Francisco to bring "war brides" (foreign women married to American GIs) from Australia to the U.S.