cover image As Long as Life: The Memoirs of a Frontier Woman Doctor, Mary Canaga Rowland, 1873-1966

As Long as Life: The Memoirs of a Frontier Woman Doctor, Mary Canaga Rowland, 1873-1966

Mary C. Rowland, F. A. Loomis. Storm Peak Press, $11.95 (178pp) ISBN 978-0-9641357-0-3

What makes this book of memoirs especially remarkable is the matter-of-fact attitude that Dr. Rowland (1873-1966) takes as she describes events such as studying for her first medical degree from the Women's Medical College of Kansas City, Mo., and getting a divorce. In 1994, women do these things every day-but they did not in the early part of this century. The editor, Rowland's great-great nephew, has done a nice job of arranging the memoirs and has added thoughtful notes to help the reader better understand Rowland's life. From Kansas to Oregon to New York City, Rowland provides an excellent view of medical life at the turn of the century and what it meant to be a career woman and a single mother long before it became a political touchstone. This is more than a medical history; Rowland's story, enlivened by her infectious sense of adventure and her eagerness to move from frontier town to town plying her trade, has touches of humor and a spark of mystery . Her memoirs give the reader a unique perspective on the pioneering spirit that helped build America, when a house call meant driving a wagon in through woods with vague directions and doctors were paid with bartered goods like potatoes. (Dec.)