Testimonials

"I was originally interested in reading Clara's Rib as I found out my mother was admitted into the Royal Ottawa Sanatorium around 1956 due to tuberculosis. She ended up having a lung removed so I was curious as to what her experience would have been like. In reading Clara's Rib I found a story of love, hope, faith and family values. Although life seemed so bleak for this child being institutionalized for most of her childhood with the shadow of death looming over her, and so many friends and family succumbed to the illness, Clara showed hope and determination through her faith. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to anyone!
Thank you Anne,"

Bob Sadler, Vancouver, B.C, January 2021

Take a look at the Canadian Lung Association Blog item entitled Author Anne Raina receives the Heather Crowe Award from Canadian Lung Association.

"Anne Raina's sister, Clara, who suffered with TB for many years left a legacy of her personal journals that Anne has crafted into a book that paints a graphic picture of what life was like in the 30s and 40s for TB patients. It is a fascinating human story set in a time before antibiotics were established as the method of choice for improving the health of those with TB. The book is a mesmerizing page turner but to hear an author reading their work is a special treat.This happened at St. Stephen's Anglican Church On April 13th, 2015, with a truly wonderful evening when Anne gave an inspiring and moving presentation. Even though I knew the story I found Anne's presentation of it spellbinding. Well done Anne you were great."

Tony Myres, BSc(Hon),PhD, Scientist Emeritus, Health Canada

"This is a remarkable diary of the life of a remarkable woman. Not only is it a moving chronicle of the life of a young girl living with TB in the time just before the introduction of antibiotics, but it is also a wonderfully detailed and personal view of the Canadian experience in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Clara's faith, not only in the divine, but in human beings and the power of caring, is a great example for all of us. I enjoyed every page; and miss my daily contact with Clara now that I have finished reading."

Shelley Walkerley NP-PHC PhD, Instructor, Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program Ryerson University

"Anne Raina's presentation in Saranac Lake, New York, USA, at The Saranac Laboratory Museum in May, 2013, captivated the audience. She paints a vivid picture of her sister's long struggle with tuberculosis. She draws out the best details from her book and presents them with sincerity and deep emotion. We greatly enjoyed her visit and hope to plan another presentation in the future."

Amy Catania, Executive Director, Historic Saranac Lake, The Saranac Laboratory Museum, New York, USA

"Clara's Rib is an outstanding historical autobiography, outlining the incredible hardships and challenges faced by Clara Raina, a twelve year old girl growing through her formative years in a tuberculosis hospital, the Royal Ottawa Sanatorium, 'the San'.
On October 15, 2012, Anne Raina was invited by the Lost Villages Historical Society to be the guest speaker for the monthly meeting. A large number of members and friends attended to hear Anne's outstanding presentation. We heard of other anecdotes related to Clara's life and her stay at The San. As well, we heard of the challenges faced by Clara's family as six of her siblings were also admitted to The San. Through family anecdotes and historical facts about tuberculosis, Anne Raina told us the life story of her sister, living at The San. This outstanding autobiography, through Anne's eloquent words, opened the door on a subject not often spoken about, but remembered by many community seniors, today."

Jim Brownell, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed, President, Lost Villages Historical Society

"On November 19, 2012, Anne Raina was a presenter at the Ontario Lung Association's bi-annual TB Conference, TB: Making a Difference. The conference, held in Toronto, was attended by more than 250 health professionals who work in the field of TB prevention and treatment in public health departments and other government agencies, hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities. They were very moved by the presentation and felt that the book made an important contribution to the history of public health in Canada."

Joy Marshall, RN, MN, TB Manager, Public Health Branch, Regional Municipality of York, Co-Chair OLA Tuberculosis Committee

"For some members of the Medical History Club of Ottawa, the kinds of treatments and administrative policies to which Clara was subjected seemed to constitute cruelty - yet older members were able to recall those as the accepted and approved therapies at the time. But Anne made it possible to see all of these through the eyes of a patient - not a fictional one, but a living, breathing, coughing, suffering, feeling one. The emotional highs and lows that Clara experienced happen with patients every day, no matter the condition. Clara's Rib and Anne's presentation further reminded everyone of one of the principles of medicine, one that is too often forgotten in the pursuit of scientific objectivity and optimal scientific care - that the practioner's objective is to care about and comfort patients as much or more than to defeat disease."

Philip Winkelaar, Past President, Medical History Club of Ottawa

"The recounting of the limited means of treating lung TB patients throughout the 1940s and '50s before the advent of effective chemotherapy by Anne Raina drawing on the personal experience of her own family, from which she not only lost her own father but also two brothers to the ravages of TB, as well as having had five other members of her family spend time in the San, has been well received by numerous public presentations, including groups of the Lung Association and medical practitioners. The response and grateful appreciation shown to Anne by attendees to her Historical Society of Ottawa presentation was very evident from the extended question and discussion period that ensued."

George A. Neville, President, The Historical Society of Ottawa

"Anne Raina has completed a worthwhile and much needed task in writing this book. It is through understanding history that we recognize how far we have come and what is yet to be done in care of TB clients and control of infectious diseases. It has been my privilege to hear Anne speak about the book and her family at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Whitby ON. This talk added further context and reality to the lived experience of life with TB in the family."

Margaret A. McIntyre RN. BScN, MN