Nightingale: A Memoir of Murder, Madness, and the Messenger of Spring

Nightingale is an eloquent and inspiring tribute to the legacy of Elisabeth Mannering Congdon, the extraordinary woman who was so much more than the last day of her life. Entrusted with the burdens and joys of memory, Elisabeth's eldest granddaughter, Suzanne Congdon LeRoy, combines lived experience with meticulous historical research as she courageously reveals a family legacy of love, inconceivable loss, and perseverance. Elisabeth Congdon emerges not as heiress or victim but as the messenger of spring and the key to her granddaughter's survival. Elisabeth's early efforts to nurture a foundation of hope, optimism, and the power of possibility lead Suzanne to advanced education, a remarkable nursing career and the discovery of the ineffable relationship between healing oneself, service to others, and the connection to the spirit and beauty of the earth that makes her whole again.



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