Hospital Sketches

2 September 2021: “As no two persons see the same thing with the same eyes, my view of hospital life must be taken through my glass, and held for what it is worth. Certainly, nothing was set down in malice, and to the serious-minded party who objected to a tone of levity in some portions of the Sketches, I can only say that it is a part of my religion to look well after the cheerfulnesses of life, and let the dismals shift for themselves; believing, with good Sir Thomas More, that it is wise to 'be merrie in God.'" -Louisa May Alcott, Hospital Sketches

I finished reading Hospital Sketches today so I can start the entry on it for my book. (Random choice, but you have to start somewhere.) It was so interesting to take on: a book whose tone varies wildly, but in ways that make sense (as the selection above indicates). 

Things are so horrible everywhere--COVID still killing, the reality of climate change ravaging both coasts, evils laws doing damage and threatening to do more. It's overwhelming and has been since...2016? Reading Alcott write about experiences in perhaps the darkest time in American history (and about one of the darkest places)...well, it just gives me a lot to think about.