One Glorious Ambition, by Jane Kirkpatrick

One Glorious Ambition, by Jane Kirkpatrick

This is the true story of Dorothea Dix, a single woman in the 1800s who ended up spending the majority of her life on a crusade to help the unfortunate, mainly the mentally ill, lobbying for funding and construction of humane insane asylums across the country. 

It starts out in her childhood, in extreme poverty with a mother who is implied to be mentally ill, and an alcoholic and irresponsible father. She begged her grandmother for help, and her grandmother sent her to relatives. While with them, she decided to become a teacher of the young and unfortunate, which she did for many years, but after almost dying of an illness, she found her true calling, that of lobbying for the mentally ill. 

That a woman could be heard and make such an impact in that time period, is an amazing feat in itself. She was able to make a difference in countless lives.

Jane Kirkpatrick always does such an excellent job researching and writing in the voice of the character. This is not the first book I have read of hers and certainly won't be the last. 

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