Daughters of the Islands

Daughters of the Islandsicon

Six Nurses, One Archipelago, & the Quiet Power of Care

by Tom Olson, MingBao Yue

Publisher
Koehler Books
Publication
Jul 21, 2026
Format
Paperback/Softback
Illustrated
No
Price
20.95
Dimensions
6 x 9
ISBN
9798897471898
Age
Adult 18+
Category
Biographies & MemoirsGeneral NonfictionHistory

Rights Sold

🌍 World Wide Rights Available

Description

They were told they were too small, too quiet, too invisible to matter. Yet across sugarcane fields, wartime wards, and island classrooms, six women from Hawai'i transformed a professionand a generationthrough the power of care. Daughters of the Islands uncovers the untold stories of nurses whose courage and compassion reshaped their communities from the 1920s through Statehood. Of Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Madeiran, and Kanaka Maoli heritage, these women rose from humble beginnings to become teachers, healers, and quiet revolutionaries. Told through intimate, voicedriven conversations, their stories reveal the strength behind gentleness, the legacy within service, and the enduring spirit of aloha that binds Hawai'i's people. Blending the heart of oral history with the sweep of narrative nonfiction, Daughters of the Islands is both a luminous meditation on what it means to care and a rediscovery of Hawai'i's forgotten heroines. Step into their worldwhere every act of healing becomes an act of historyand feel the echo of their courage among the pages.

Author(s)

Tom Olson

Tom Olson

For Tom Olson, Daughters of the Islands marks a meaningful shift from his earlier, more academic writing toward broader, more humancentered storytelling. He's written extensively for academic and healthcare journals, as well as his awardwinning book, Handling the Sick (Ohio State University Press, 2004). Formerly certified as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist, Tom focused on improving the lives of individuals with obsessivecompulsive disorder. In higher education, he has held teaching and leadership roles across a range of institutions, including the University of the Virgin Islands, the University of Hawai'i, the University of Texas, New York University, Mercy University, Northeastern University, and California State University San Marcos. Most recently, he served as a consultant with AASCU Consulting.

Related Titles

Gaza
Gazaicon
Hilary Tarazi
Radiant
Radianticon
Nancy J. Tarbell, MD, Smitha V...
Becoming Is Messy
Becoming Is Messyicon
Meghann Dawson
Battle Forged
Battle Forgedicon
Torree McGowan, MD
The Fugazi Kid
The Fugazi Kidicon
William Branley
What If?
What If?icon
Sandy Camillo
Mom's Book
Mom's Bookicon
Wendy Goldberg
The Torah of Social Media
The Torah of Social Mediaicon
Rabbi Avram Mlotek LMSW
Living Chronic
Living Chronicicon
Brandy Schantz
Detoured
Detouredicon
Dr. Maisha Laini Grant