THE HEADLING HEART

The biography of Ora Ruggles, written with the assistance of the heroine herself, is also the story of occupational therapy from its inception after the ravages of World War I to its acceptance by the A. M. A. decades and another World War later. Besides an abiding faith, Ora brought an uncommon strength and a most colorful vigor to her first assignment at Fort McPherson in 1918. Her battle there for the restoration of the crippled and the hopeless was fought against the frustrating opposition of the Army, the medical staff, and above all, the patients themselves. In what unique ways it was won, and at what personal losa, form the most poignant portion of her story and perhaps the most dramatic of her life. The pioneering spirit, an embedded vestige from her actual family background, was to bring Ora's talents and energy to TB sanitoriums, mental wards and children's hospitals. It was also to establish the first market for the product output of the handicapped and was, by dint of her own court martial, to define the duties and elevate the status of occupational therapy. Piercing the superficial coverage of dates and events, this is a most scenic portrait of individual experience and should fascinate anyone interested in amazing real people.