"Pill Hill is a seamless collage of Mayo Clinic history blended with personal hijinks in the life of a spokesman from a generation who grew up at a time when nobody locked doors, carriage houses and barns were turning into garages, milk was delivered by a "horse-powered" truck, coal was delivered through basement chutes, and children entertained themselves outdoors year-round.... Helen's charming book is a thoughtful trip down memory lane,even for those without a Pill Hill address." - Rochester Woman magazine.

 

"Pill Hill does a great service to readers who aren't truly aware of how far medical research has come over the last century. I enjoyed the recount of Mayo's progression from Dr. William Mayo and his sons' vision of what medicine could and should be, to the hardships of war and the Great Depression, through the standard of medical excellence it still holds today.... Thank you again for graciously sending me such informative literature." - The Heritage Foundation

 

"Through a treasure trove of family letters and diaries, Copeland recreates the courtship of her father, a young Canadian doctor and Marion Knowles, who grew up in a very wealthy New England family, their marriage and life in what began as a small prairie town that became world famous. She gives us, through marvelously detailed memories, a portrait of domesticity in American upper middle class... and solid portraits of Drs. Mayo who believed in clean living, hard work and giving.... Copeland writes with such clear, arresting and poetic prose you don't realize you're reading careful and detailed research until you look up and say "Wow! I didn't know that." Copeland's book is an absolute "must read." - The Pilot, Pinehurst, Southern Pines

 

"Pill Hill - Growing up with the Mayo Clinic is a nostalgic memoir from the only daughter of one of the surgeons who helped establish the famous clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Copeland takes readers through the '20s, '30s and '40s in small-town Rochester, including activities of the traditional wives and mothers, the adventures and pranks of her brothers and friends and relationships of the intentionally renowned doctors and their families and neighbors. - Charlotte Weekly

 

"Pill Hill is a tale of love, loyalty, fascination, and pride as seen and felt by Copeland while growing up in Rochester as the daughter of a surgeon. Family events, school life, girlfriends and youthful antics are some of the personal scenes Copeland describes. The author leads us through the years as the Mayo Clinic grew from that of a local practice to one of international status. Copeland touches on the mystique characterizing interprofessional relations, families, the visits of notoriety and the effect of the growth of the community and Clinic on life in Rochester." - Edmund C. Burke, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics (Emeritus), Mayo Medical School and Editor, Emeritus Quarterly News

"It was a pleasure reading Pill Hill, revisiting the privileged early years of our jives in that town of the 1920's and 30's, growing up in a neighborhood largely composed of young families, the fathers dedicated to the medical profession and the mothers totally involved with their children, their homes and their friends. It couldn't have been better!" - Barbara Benedict Hanlon, Childhood friend of Helen Copeland