Commemorative Edition:
Florence Nightingale: Mystic, Visionary, Healer

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A book for all ages, a book transcending time — the Commemorative Edition of Florence Nightingale: Mystic, Visionary, Healer is a classic to keep and to share. Beautifully bound and illustrated, this is the most comprehensive Nightingale biography ever available, crafted by a nurse scholar and pioneer — who invested a decade of first-hand research in the preparation of this treasured volume. Its content includes a thorough review of Nightingale's entire life — 1820 to 1910 — with many quotes from Nightingale and those who knew her. Each and every page is a graphic frame for the unfolding story, with photos and illustrations illuminating Nightingale's life and times.

Highlights from The Author's Preface

“Like a fiery comet, Florence Nightingale streaked across the skies of nineteenth-century England and transformed the world with her passage. She was a towering genius of both intellect and spirit, and her legacy resonates today as forcefully as during her lifetime. We know Nightingale best as the founder of modern secular nursing, but that is only one side of her many-faceted life. The source of her strength, vision, and guidance was a deep sense of unity with her God, which is the hallmark of the mystical tradition in all the world's great religions. This aspect of Nightingale's life has been vastly underestimated, yet we cannot understand her legacy without taking it into account....

“During my professional education—like most of my colleagues in nursing—I gained only a meager and essentially trivialized picture of Nightingale. When my interests led me to explore her life more deeply, I was awed by what I found. I realized that her legacy was far more important—and that she, as an individual personality, was much more complex—than I had ever imagined. The further my research took me, the larger Nightingale loomed—not just in nursing but in many other fields as well.... By any measure, she is one of the most towering figures in the Victorian Age....Indeed, it is difficult to find her equal on the entire canvas of 19th-century Western civilization.

“In today's specialized world, we are often tempted to compartmentalize our lives, putting our professional interests in one corner and our spiritual concerns in another. To Nightingale, fragmenting one's life in this way would have been unthinkable. Her spiritual vision and her professional identity were seamlessly combined. As she put it, 'My work is my must.' She is therefore an icon of wholeness, an emblem of a united, integrated life. By her shining example, she invites each of us to find our meaning and purpose—our own 'must'—in our individual journey through life.

“May Florence Nightingale change your life, as she has mine.”

Notable Reviews

“This beautiful book is the most comprehensive and creative examintation I have ever read of the life of this remarkable woman. The book is profusely illustrated. Many of the images are in full color and have not been previously printed. Words and images combine to produce insights of incredible depth and beauty. The author's straightforward and readable writing style reminds readers of Nightingale's own writings. Clearly, Dossey has a connection with the fascinating Miss Nightingale that spans the boundaries of time and space. This is lucky for us, the readers of this sesntive portrait of one of the most amazing women in history. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in feminist history, healing, the path of the mystic, leadership, or the history of nursing. It will surely become a classic in its genre!” — H. Lea Gaydos, PhD, RN, HNC

“This biography is a gripping account not only of Nightingale's professional accomplishments, but of her inner life as well. This is a story of how science can be empowered and informed by spirituality, and how the two can dwell harmoniously in an individual life. This book shows how Nightingale helped transform the status of women, and why all modern women are in Nightingale's debt.”  —Lynn Keegan, RN, PhD, HNC, FAAN

“I knew of Florence Nightingale's nursing activities before reading this book but had no idea of the extent of her self-discipline, dedication and accomplishments.... The author provides a wealth of background material describing the historic times and places associated with Florence Nightingale. One of the things I appreciated about this book were the many maps and photographs appropriately placed near the text about the person or places.”  —Joanne Alexander, Salem, Oregon

“The life and accomplishments of Florence Nightingale is an extremely difficult subject to examine. This complex and multi-facted women had an amazing intellect driven by her profound spirituality and and need to improve the well-being of mankind. Barbara Dossey is to be commended for her excellent biography which goes well beyond the usual recounting of dates and events. This volume is beautifully illustrated and analyzes many of the persistent issues which have surrounded Nighitngale including her extended illness. There is a well-developed analysis of Nightingale's motivators and motivations. This volume should be of interest to the general reading public as well as nurses.”  —Louise Selanders, EdD, RN, FAAN, East Lansing, Michigan

“As a nurse and amateur Florence Nightingale historian, I was so excited to find this book. The content did not disappoint me. It offers the best coverage of the life of this extraordinary woman I've seen or read. This book is exciting, informative, and beautiful....I recommend the book to anyone interested in nursing, history or the biography of an amazing woman. Thank you Barbara Dossey for bringing Florence Nightingale to life in this wonderful book!”  —Deanne Lewis, MS, RN, C, Prescott, Arizona

“A Standing Ovation for Nursing! Barbara Dossey has created a brilliant monument to the world of healing and nursing. Creatively illustrated, finely written and comprehensive in thought, I know of no other book in the long list of published biographies that heralds a woman who has changed the course of events in professional caregiving. Learn and feel the inspiration through Barbara Dossey's great creation of word, eye and heart.”  —Don Campbell, Boulder, Colorado

“This is unquestionably the best biography of Nightingale ever written.... The author has also written texts on intensive care nursing and on wholistic health. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing—which signifies the high respect of her research peers for her work. This is the finest contribution she has made and that says a lot.”  —Pat McKnight, Tuscon, Arizona

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"How did writing this book change your life?” Watch a video interview with Dr. Barbara Dossey

Premiere Service for Nightingale, Nurses & Nursing at the Washington National Cathedral, August, 2001 Author's Keynote Address Transcript:

Dr. Barbara Dossey during her 2007 visit to Istanbul, the city—then Constantinople—where Nightingale began her famous lifework. Photo: Wayne Kines

About the Author

Dr. Barbara Dossey is a nurse biographer of Florence Nightingale and is also internationally recognized as a pioneer in the holistic nursing movement. She is the recipient of numerous awards and has authored or co-authored 23 books including Florence Nightingale: Mystic, Visionary, Healer (2010) and Florence Nightingale Today: Healing, Leadership, Global Action (2005) and numerous related articles and book chapters. The focus of Dr. Dossey's work is holistic nursing, integrative nurse coaching, compassionate care of the dying, and the impact of Florence Nightingale’s life and work on contemporary nursing and humankind. One of the founders of NIGH, Dr. Dossey continues to actively serve as International Co-Director.

See www.dosseydossey.com and www.integrativenursecoach.com

Royalties

As required for NIGH's US 501(c)3 Non-Profit status, all royalties due to the author—as a member of NIGH's Board of Directors—are contributed to NIGH's operating fund in full disclosure.