“A combination of in-depth research and beautiful writing, The Roosting Box makes a deeply moving and important contribution to our knowledge of the immediate aftermath of Canada’s role in the First World War. With unflinching intimacy and tenderness, Kristen den Hartog documents the lives of some of the thousands of permanently disabled young Canadians who returned after the conflict. Gripped by the pathos and courage of these lives, and by the empathy of the doctors and nurses who attended to them, my knowledge of my country — and my self — was changed.” — Jane Urquhart, author of The Stone Carvers
“Kristen den Hartog has written a deeply moving story of what war can do to the body, and what the spirit can do along the road to recovery. Written with empathy and intimacy, The Roosting Box is a book full of tragedy that ultimately carries a profound message of hope.” — Jonathan F. Vance, author of The True Story of the Great Escape: Stalag Luft III, March 1944
“Kristen den Hartog’s carefully researched, beautifully written, altogether fascinating account of Toronto’s Christie Street Hospital in the years during and following the First World War is an unblinking time machine. Her latest book compels us to look directly at the result of military action: wounds, burns, amputations, sickness, madness, shattered lives, death. This stunning book is the real history of a war. All war.” — David Macfarlane, author of The Danger Tree
“A wonderful book. Kristen den Hartog has uncovered a little-known chapter of medical history that makes a major statement about the ills of war and the war against illness.” — Howard Markel, author of Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin
“A warning: once you pick up this book, you will likely annoy everyone around you by spouting fascinating facts out of context, like a bothersome robot, but pick it up anyway. In The Roosting Box, Kristen den Hartog has brought a piece of Toronto’s history to life, and the effect is pretty dazzling.” — Kerry Clare, Pickle Me This
“Truly this is a lyrical work of literary non-fiction; it is obvious why den Hartog is an award-winning novelist. She has also presented here a work of methodical and detailed research — her notes and list of sources is as extensive as it is impressive — an authoritative work about a little-known piece of Canadian history.” — Miramichi Reader
“Based on her research into medical care, hospital culture, rehabilitation, and other life-saving developments, den Hartog writes with a novelist’s eye and tremendous sympathy for her subjects.” — Canada’s History
