A Woman’s Quest to Become a Doctor in the 1890s

Seventeen-year-old Fanny Wheeler—a bright, small-town girl from Kansas—cannot fathom a life of cooking, cleaning, washing, and sewing. She needs more. She dreams of curing illness and preventing suffering.

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Without telling her family—or Matt, her loving, handsome childhood friend—Fanny applies to nursing school in Chicago and is accepted. Realizing nothing will stop her, her family and friends see her off as she leaves for the big city.

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With her patience, skill, intelligence, compassion, and resilience, Fanny thrives at nursing school and catches the eye of Doctor Black. He and the head nurse encourage her to attend the Medical School in Chicago, which has recently begun accepting women. But that means staying at least three more years.

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What will her family—and Matt, whom she misses with all her heart—think about her staying in Chicago longer? And what will it cost her to become a doctor, when so few women are?

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Set during the Gilded Age, The Implausible Journey of Fanny Wheeler is an inspiring story about a woman’s steadfast and honorable pursuit of a career in medicine—against all odds.