When No One Else Will - by Amanda Skenandore (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Based on the true story of an illegal women's clinic at the center of a high-profile trial in 1940s Chicago and the nurse who risked her safety and freedom to work there, a thought-provoking, powerfully timely novel of courage, sisterhood, and women's healthcare for readers of Kristin Hannah, Kerri Maher, and Audrey Blake.

In the fall of 1939, while Europe grapples with the outbreak of war, Mimi Lukas wages a private battle in her Chicago neighborhood. Her husband, Stan, once a promising White Sox player, has been sidelined by a broken leg. His hopes of returning to baseball are dwindling along with their savings. As Stan sinks into inertia, Mimi resolves to go back to nursing.

When a friend tells her of a women's clinic in need of a nurse, Mimi hesitates. Such places are illegal and at odds with her religious upbringing. But Dr. Gabler's office isn't the dingy establishment Mimi envisioned. The space is clean, bright, and welcoming, the staff skillful. Patients are treated with dignity and compassion, even as they are sworn to secrecy about what happens within its walls.

The patients, too, are not who Mimi expected. Some are heartbreakingly young. Most are married, and many already have children. Police and state prosecutors are paid handsomely to turn a blind eye. As Mimi finds kinship with her colleagues and with an officer on retainer, she begins her own private reckoning between what is legal and what is necessary, no matter how painful or inconvenient.

But Mimi senses the tide turning against them. She knows, too, that soon she must decide how much she will risk to defend the ideals she's come to embrace through hard-won experience . . .

Poignant and insightful, here is a story of courage and empathy, as timeless as it is timely.

Review Quotes

Praise for Amanda Skenandore

"Strong and powerful, touching on relevant themes such as trauma, identity, and acceptance. The historical context of traveling medicine shows is fascinating and rich." --Addison Armstong, author of The War Librarian on The Medicine Woman of Galveston

"Skenandore has a keen eye for developing characters who transform while keeping the endearing, relatable qualities that made us root for them in the first place. A charming cast of misfits and a devastating hurricane were just the ingredients I needed to completely lose myself in this book." --Elise Cooper, author of Angels of the Pacific on The Medicine Woman of Galveston

"A spellbinding story, a vividly drawn setting, and characters that leap off the pages." --Sara Ackerman, USA Today bestselling author of The Codebreaker's Secret on The Nurse's Secret

"In this superior historical from Skenandore, the wife of a 1920s Hollywood actor is transformed by the news of a medical diagnosis... Skenandore makes plausible Mirielle's metamorphosis from Hollywood socialite to active, caring member of the Carville community. The author's diligent research, as well as her empathetic depiction of those subjected to forced medical isolation, make this a winner." --Publishers Weekly on The Second Life of Mirielle West

"Scrupulous in her research and practically clairvoyant in her choice of urgent subjects -- from the Indigenous boarding schools of her first novel to the disease and quarantine of The Second Life of Mirielle West -- historical novelist Amanda Skenandore has quietly become one of the valley's finest authors." --The Las Vegas Review Journal

"Despite being a fictional work, in her book The Second Life of Mirielle West Amanda Skenandore has used her medical background as a registered nurse--and her storytelling skills as a writer--to describe the sorrows experienced by patients with leprosy who were quarantined at the Carville Leper Home." --The Lancet

"Effie's community of freedmen and Creoles in Reconstruction New Orleans is unforgettable. Skenandore's second novel is recommended for readers who enjoy medical historical fiction reminiscent of Diane McKinney-Whetstone's Lazaretto, and historical fiction with interpersonal drama." --Library Journal on The Undertaker's Assistant

"Our immersion in that world--from the particulars of baking marble cake to the grisly minutiae of embalming corpses to the messy and violent politics of the Reconstruction South--is so complete that the reader never doubts it once existed. That said, one of this novel's many virtues is how it subtly conveys how many black citizens in the post-Civil War era took it upon themselves to improve their own lives." --Historical Novels Review on The Undertaker's Assistant

"Readers who like complex characters amid a roiling historical setting will be fascinated by Effie's quest...Teen readers who are not turned off by the embalming details will empathize with a young woman's search for identity and love." --Booklist on The Undertaker's Assistant

"Intensely emotional...Skenandore's deeply introspective and moving novel will appeal to readers of American history, particularly those interested in the dynamics behind the misguided efforts of white people to better the lives Native American by forcing them to adopt white cultural mores." --Publishers Weekly on Between Earth and Sky

"By describing its costs in human terms, the author shapes tension between whites and Native Americans into a touching story. The title of Skenandore's debut could refer to reality and dreams, or to love and betrayal; all are present in this highly original novel." --Booklist on Between Earth and Sky

"A heartbreaking story about the destructive legacy of the forced assimilation of Native American children. Historical fiction readers and book discussion groups will find much to ponder here." --Library Journal on Between Earth and Sky

"Gripping and beautifully written, Between Earth and Sky tugs at the heart with its dynamic heroine and unique cast of characters. Though this novel brings alive two historical American eras and settings, the story is achingly modern, universal and important." --Karen Harper, New York Times bestselling author of The It Girls on Between Earth and Sky

About the Author

Amanda Skenandore is a registered nurse and acclaimed author of historical fiction, including The Nurse's Secret, The Second Life of Mirielle West, When No One Else Will, and more. The recipient of the American Library Association's RUSA Reading List Award for her debut, Between Earth and Sky, her novels have been selected for Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books, Apple Best Books of the Month, the Hoopla Book Club, and 2023 Silicon Valley Reads, among other honors. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and can be found online at AmandaSkenandore.com.