Get Free Shipping on orders over $89
Rugged Mercy : A Country Doctor in Idaho's Sun Valley - Robert Wright

Rugged Mercy

A Country Doctor in Idaho's Sun Valley

By: Robert Wright

Paperback | 27 February 2013

At a Glance

Paperback


$61.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $15.44 with

 or 

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

In the dead of night in 1894, a trembling, wide-eyed 13-year-old boy assisted with his first surgery--an experience that changed his life. Robert H. Wright attended medical school, then returned home to Hailey, Idaho, to marry Cynthia Beamer, his childhood sweetheart, and to practice in the frontier west--a choice that required both rugged courage and devoted compassion. Called to risk his own life on multiple occasions, he remained composed during a crisis, and his gentle confidence calmed traumatized victims. At times, he performed operations by lantern light and traveled by buggy, dog sled, or Studebaker to reach remote patients. In 1917, he led the rescue effort at the North Star mine avalanche disaster.

Eventually, the doctor welcomed a grandson, also named Robert Wright, who eagerly absorbed thrilling tales of a pioneer past. Yet despite their close relationship, the younger Wright sensed mysterious secrets and unspoken heartbreak, and he began to probe for the untold stories. In Rugged Mercy, he unravels and celebrates the lives of his beloved grandparents. Alternating between accounts of the doctor's decades of medicine and his own memories of growing up in Hailey, the author provides an intimate glimpse of challenges faced by rural physicians in the first half of the 1900s, of significant events in the history and evolution of the Wood River Valley and Sun Valley resort, and of family life in a small Idaho community.

Industry Reviews

"Rugged Mercy succeeds as a story of family, faith, and hard work, sometimes in the midst of suffering."

--Columbia Magazine


"An exciting read of true adventure, highly recommended."

--Midwest Book Review


"One gains a great affection for Doc Wright because of his obvious courage and unfailing commitment to the medical profession."

--Columbia Magazine

More in Memoirs

Start With Yourself : A New Vision for Work & Life - Emma Grede
True Crime : A Memoir - Patricia Cornwell

RRP $34.99

$24.99

29%
OFF
Stripped Down : Unfiltered and Unapologetic - Bunnie Xo

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
Being Patient : Close Encounters in Cancer World - Na'ama Carlin

RRP $34.99

$29.99

14%
OFF
A Year at Awakino Station - Jaz Mathisen

RRP $45.00

$35.75

21%
OFF
Joyful, Anyway : Finding Delight in Impossible Times - Kate Bowler
Unbothered : The Art of Letting Go to Find Yourself - Margarita Nazarenko
Delicious : Stories of cooking, love and friendship - Kate Legge
Even the Good Girls Will Cry : My 90s Rock Memoir - Melissa Auf der Maur

RRP $36.99

$29.75

20%
OFF
Everything You Want Is on the Other Side of Hard - Ken Rideout
Memorial Days : Shortlisted for the 2026 Stella Prize - Geraldine Brooks
Ghost Stories : A Memoir - Siri Hustvedt

RRP $34.99

$28.99

17%
OFF
Periodic Bitch - Emma Hardy

RRP $29.99

$24.99

17%
OFF
A Waiter in Paris : Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City - Edward Chisholm