Reaching Past the Wire: A Nurse at Abu Ghraib

by Deanna Germain, Connie Lounsbury

On a frigid afternoon in February 2003, Deanna Germain, a nurse practitioner and new grandmother living in Blaine, Minnesota, received the registered letter she had hoped would never arrive. In six days she was to report for active duty as war loomed in Iraq. The purpose of "For Enduring Freedom."

With startling detail, Lt. Col. Germain offers a clear-eyed account of life as a nursing supervisor behind the fortified gates of Abu Ghraib. Her To treat Iraqi prisoners, U.S. soldiers, and Marines in need of medical attention. Shortly after she arrived, the notorious prison made headlines around the world for abuses that had stopped months before. Despite unbearable heat, frequent mortar attacks, medical supply shortages, substandard facilities, the relentless stench of war, and sleepless nights quartered in a tiny prison cell, Germain served the medical needs of each of her patients with remarkable humanity.

In this crucible of wartime stress, workplace turmoil, and cultural uncertainty, Germain found herself forging powerful connections with colleagues and translators. She learned from translators about normal Iraqi families struggling to survive impossible conditions. And after vowing to avoid personal relationships with prisoners, she became a comfort to many. Duty and compassion, camaraderie and hope all helped to pull her through.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

DDC: 956.704437. Subjects: Iraq War 2003, Nurse practioners, Iraq, Abu Ghraib Prison. From the heart memoir of 52-year-old wife, mother, grandmother, nurse practitioner, and Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel living the American dream in Minnesota until her orders arrive--report to active duty. It is February 2003. As she steps off the C-130 military plane a 1st Sergeant welcomes her to Baghdad and informs her "You have accepted the worst assignment in Iraq". Follow the author through her 18-month stay in Iraq--stationed at the Ghraib Prison Medical Hospital--where she nurses her fellow soldiers and Marines as well as Iraqi detainee patients. It should be noted that Germain is donating her royalties from the sales of her book to the Fisher House Foundation.

[Barbara]

Previously owned by Evalee Kunkel

[Andabook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A living angel!

[Marianne Sciucco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as research for my own novel-in-progress which has a character serving as an Army nurse in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am also a nurse but have no military experience. Ms. Germain's insights were so helpful in describing what a nurse in this situation experiences and endures. Her story is real and honest and covers many issues I had not considered. I have a deeper appreciation for our soldiers and for our medical personnel serving in the Middle East and around the world after reading this book. Thank you, Lt. Col. Germain, for sharing your story; I know it was difficult for you. You are very brave.