The Healers of Harlem: The Black Women Who Changed Medicine Forever

Name: The Healers of Harlem: The Black Women Who Changed Medicine Forever
Brand: Dutton Books for Young Readers
SKU: 9780593620083
Price: 25.19 USD
Availability: InStock

$25.19

Product Variants

Review Quotes:
★ "In her powerful debut, Chhita delivers a stirring and thoroughly researched account of the Black women whose work transformed both Harlem Hospital and American medicine.... Rich in historical detail and emotional resonance, this illuminating work gives long-overdue recognition to a remarkable group of trailblazers." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Spanning from the hiring of the first Black doctor at Harlem Hospital in 1919 to the present day, this is a fascinating, deeply researched look into the lives of pioneering Black healthcare professionals within a specific community, and an illuminating history of the American healthcare system at large.... An eye-opeing must read." --SLJ, starred review.

"Bright and bracing narrative nonfiction, effectively weaving together medical, Civil Rights, and Harlem history."-- Kirkus Reviews

Biographical Note:
Nina Chhita is a writer, researcher, and illustrator based in England. Her video essays and portraits of pioneering women in science and medical fields appear on her popular Instagram account. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Mental Floss and the BBC, among other outlets. This is her debut book.

Publisher Marketing:
For readers who loved the previously untold history of Hidden Figures, an amazing story of the pioneering work done by Black women at one American hospital and how it shaped medical care in America.

★ "In her powerful debut, Chhita delivers a stirring and thoroughly researched account of the Black women whose work transformed both Harlem Hospital and American medicine.... Rich in historical detail and emotional resonance, this illuminating work gives long-overdue recognition to a remarkable group of trailblazers." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

The story of the Harlem Hospital is entwined with the history of desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement in America. In this unique interdisciplinary history, Chhita chronicles the Harlem Hospital from its beginnings as a small hospital in the late-19th century to the day it saved Dr. MArtin Luther King Jr.'s life to its present form as a world class medical facility. She focuses on four Black women who were instrumental in the long struggle to demolish racist barriers in the hospital and overcome anti-Black bias against its work after integration.

Chhita spent years doing interviews and painstaking archival research, and the book features many previously unpublished primary sources which she skillfully weaves into a story of personal and collective struggle and triumph.

A talented artist known for her portraits of trailblazing women in science on Instagram, Chhita's two-color illustrations will be featured throughout.

Review Citations:

Publishers Weekly 06/01/2026 (EAN 9780593620083, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
School Library Journal 06/01/2026 pg. 108 (EAN 9780593620083, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
Booklist 06/01/2026 (EAN 9780593620083, Hardcover)
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2026 (EAN 9780593620083, Hardcover)
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2026 (EAN 9780593620083, Hardcover)