Happiness is found in the little details of everyday living... (Chapter 1)

{HISTORY}

 Fascinating from beginning to end, American Red Cross Home Nursing published in 1942, was the textbook used for a home nursing course taught by retired American Red Cross nurses. The pupils were not medical professionals in training but yet the typical American homeowner (mostly women)  dedicated to learning valuable home care information in order to relieve doctors and nurses from answering non-life threatening calls during World War II. Empowering and practical, this is a slice of domestic life, not often discussed during the war years, when so many women were left in charge to run their households without help or advice while men and medical professionals were off fighting the war. 

You might think at first glance, based on the title,  that this book is all about medical situations, but really that is only a portion of what's covered here. In actuality, it's a domestic science book, one taht was first published in 1913,  that covers everything from health and wellness to home organization, happiness, cleanliness and emotional guidance during the taxing years of war and upheaval.  It has been revised numerous times since the early 1900s, brought up to date with the current situations facing each decade in America and modernized as life became more modern and technologically advanced. 

With the foundation and the mission at heart always being to create a happy, peaceful, calm, and content home life, this book taught women how to avoid catastrophe from the beginning, how to carefully tend to minor injuries, and how to care not only for sick members of the household but also everyone else from babies to seniors, both emotionally and physically.

It must have been such a comfort to learn this valuable information during such a stressful time. The course was comprised of 12 lessons, each spanning two hours per lesson and the goal of the Red Cross was to teach at least 100,00 women in each big city across the country, so that professional medical resources would not be overloaded. It's both a sobering situation to think about and an interesting scope of information presented.  Surprisingly, almost all of the information is still applicable to today. 

On the kitchen front, there is much to explore... how to sanitize, organize and care for everyone's favorite room in the house, how to prepare and present meals to bed-bound patients, how to ensure proper dietary nutrition for the sick, and how to act as a supportive nurse-maid for women and newborn babies recovery from childbirth at home.  

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- 1942 Edition

- 431 pages

- Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs and line drawings

- Staple-bound paperback

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition. There is a slight wrinkle on the front cover and a small rip in the corner of the back cover. The endpaper in back of the book has a small, light stain, otherwise, all the pages are clean and bright. The stapled spine is tight and all pages are secure.

{SIZE}

Measures 7.75" inches x 5.25" inches x .75" inches and weighs 1 lb.

{FOR THE WWII COLLECTOR}

Find more vintage World War II memorabilia here.