From an early age, Elizabeth Blackwell believed that she was destined for a mission beyond the scope of "ordinary" womanhood. Though the world at first recoiled at the notion of a woman studying medicine, but in 1849, she became the first woman in America to receive an M.D. She was soon joined in her iconic achievement by her younger sister, Emily, an even more brilliant physician. Exploring the sisters' allies, enemies, and enduring partnership, Janice Nimura's Pulitzer Prize finalist is a story of trial and triumph. "Nimura has resurrected Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell in all their feisty, thrilling, trailblazing splendor."—Stacy Schiff