In 1938, 18-year-old Phyllis Ellsworth packed her bags and set off from her quiet seaside home for the Hackney Hospital in London's bustling East End, where she trained as a nurse. At first, it is a whirlwind of long days, new friends, and plenty of mischief, but just ten months later Britain declared war on Germany and life at the hospital was transformed. Written over the course of her long lifetime, Phyllis's 2015 memoir is a portrait of life during the Blitz, as she endured the endless cycle of air-raid sirens, injured servicemen, and anxiously waiting for news of loved ones.