Such Is Life: A Memoir by Jill Graves-Thomas

In the early 1950s, Jill Graves—a pretty English woman just graduated from the Royal Wanstead School in Devon—went against her mother’s advice to marry a rich man. She embarked instead on a career in nursing, emulating her heroine, Florence Nightingale. She turned down suitors and dedicated herself to her profession, until destiny came calling in the form of a handsome American. Graves moved from a sheltered childhood on Malta to English boarding schools to the oilfields in the California desert. Written with English dry wit and tremendous heart, the memories in this book open a window into growing up and growing old without sacrificing dignity or good cheer.