The Nurses Apron Partnership Publishes Anthology

Posted on Oct 07, 2009

The Nurses Apron Partnership, a donor portal for Burning Bush, Inc., has published Gotcha Covered: A Legacy of Service and Protection. An anthology of memoirs, fiction, and poetry written by nurses and inspired by a collection of vintage kitchen aprons, the book is a warm, nostalgic, and often humorous exploration of the role of aprons in the lives of women. Woven throughout are essays on the history of aprons, the roots of feminism, generational traditions, and the nursing profession. The book also includes historical images of aprons worn as part of nursing uniforms in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as 1950s Better Homes and Gardens magazine advertisements portraying women doing housework wearing pearl chokers, high heels, and, of course, aprons.

Proceeds from sales of the book will fund continuing education for nurses in the Mt. Kenya cluster of Central Kenya. “It’s a long way from Tennessee to Central Kenya — about 6,600 miles,” says Ginger Manley, editor of Gotcha Covered, “but the members of the Nurses Apron Partnership have felt a kinship with our Kenyan counterparts ever since we learned of Burning Bush’s involvement in the area. We are eager to help them and hope the book sells briskly, so we can fund additional training for as many of these hard-working nurses as possible.”

“I’ve always believed that nurses can do anything,” says Poppy Buchanan, founder of Burning Bush, Inc. “The energy, commitment, and enthusiasm that went into producing Gotcha Covered is a testimony to the can-do spirit of all the nurses involved in the project. I can’t wait to see what happens next!”

Gotcha Covered: A Legacy of Service and Protection is presently available at the gift shop in the Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville; the visitors center and Mauk’s Pharmacy in Jonesborough, Tennessee; and Landmark Booksellers in Franklin, Tennessee. It will also be featured in the booth of the Williamson County Council for the Written Word at the Southern Festival of Books. The festival will be held October 9–11 at Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville.

On Saturday, October 24, Miss Daisy’s Kitchen at the Grassland Market in Franklin will host the book’s official launch party, “A Gathering of Aprons,” from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Daisy King, aka “Miss Daisy,” is the author of numerous cookbooks and the former owner of three Nashville-area restaurants. She now runs a catering business and deli in the Grassland Market, where several apron adopters met for lunch in the fall of 2007 to discuss the book project. Daisy has agreed to display some of the vintage aprons and provide refreshments in her cozy deli/kitchen, while local contributors read excerpts from the book and autograph copies.