Island Nurses (Stories of Birth, Life and Death on Remote Great Barrier Island)

Adele and Leonie live and work on remote Great Barrier Island, so called because it faces the full brunt of wild Pacific weather and acts as a barrier for the mainland about 100 kilometers away. With a population of about 900, no electricity, no ATM, no street lights, and one pub, this is a wild and rugged place. It has a long history of farming, whaling, and fishing, and the people who live there are a hardy lot, proud of their isolation. It's also a popular summer holiday destination for mainlanders. Midwifery and nursing on a remote island brings with it a wide range of dramas and emergencies, and Adele and Leonie have many wonderful, sometimes tragic, sometimes happy, sometimes funny, stories to tell of more than 25 years of challenging and uplifting work with the hardy island inhabitants. There are several dimensions to this book: it's a story about the simple life on an isolated island; a story about two remarkable women and how they forged their careers in a remote place; a story of community and the births and deaths that shape the ups and downs of that community; a classic story of making do and overcoming adversity; and a story of hope and new life.