Enlightened Charity is a classic, seminal work by award-winning historian Dr. Martha Libster illustrates the expertise of early professional nurses among the Sisters and Daughters of Charity community. Embedded within the book, is the full text of one of the first textbooks in professional American nursing, Advices in the Care of the Sick by Sister Matilda Coskery who was considered an “oracle in the care of the insane.”; Advices, now published after 150 years in an archive, predates Florence Nightingale's oft cited text, Notes on Nursing, by 2 decades. A must have for all nurses who would seek peace of mind in knowing the origins of professional identity