Structure

The book proceeds in a generally linear fashion, condensing the lives of Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell into a well-researched overview. The book does not provide a fully thorough or exhaustive account of these women’s lives, but it focuses on the most important events in terms of the Blackwells’ development as physicians and de facto social reformers. The book begins with a general overview of Elizabeth and Emily’s formative years, highlighting how the progressivism of their parents informed their own progressive views and goals. The book then follows their journeys through the medical education system and the establishment of their professional practices.

The book focuses more heavily on Elizabeth than on Emily, as Elizabeth was the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. In this way, Elizabeth was a trailblazer, with Emily’s own journey being modeled in part on her sister...