The roosting box : rebuilding the body after the First World War

Summary/Review: "At the end of the First World War, a cash register factory in Toronto was renovated to treat wounded soldiers returning home. From 1919 to the 1940s, thousands of veterans passed through its doors. Some spent the remainder of their lives there. An exquisitely written history of the early years of the Christie Street Hospital (also known as the Dominion Orthopedic Hospital) and how war reshaped Canadian society, The Roosting Box places ordinary people at the heart of the story: veterans learning to live with their injuries and a world irrevocably changed; nurses caring for patients while carrying their own wartime trauma; and doctors pioneering research in prosthetics, plastic surgery, or a treatment for diabetes. Naming chapters after parts of the body, den Hartog chronicles injuries and treatments, and the struggles and accomplishments of patients and staff. The cast of characters is diverse--Black, female, Indigenous, and people with all sorts of physical and mental challenges--and their experiences, gleaned from diaries, letters, service records, genealogical research, and interviews with descendants, are surprising and illuminating. An unusual mix of history and story, The Roosting Box offers deeply personal perspectives on healing in the aftermath of war."--