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Triage
When the ghosts of war won't stay buried, a former Army nurse must find a way to heal-or risk losing everything.
In 1951 New Orleans, Laura Marino works as a nurse at Charity Hospital. She's been home from World War II for six years, but peacetime has brought its own challenges. She's frustrated at work, and her childless marriage to Nicholas, a surgeon she met in the Army, is strained.
Laura is devastated when news arrives that Frances, her best friend from the front, has taken her own life. Turning to the wartime journal she has kept hidden away, Laura is plunged back into memories of the bonds forged amid chaos on the front lines of North Africa, during the siege of Anzio, and at a refugee camp in Italy.
While her husband takes on an overseas assignment, Laura wrestles with her grief and guilt over Frances' death. Then she meets Boyer, a wounded veteran who shares her pain. Their connection is intense-and dangerous, threatening to upend her life entirely.
Triage is an intimate portrait of a woman's hard-won journey through love, loss, and a quest for redemption.
In 1951 New Orleans, Laura Marino works as a nurse at Charity Hospital. She's been home from World War II for six years, but peacetime has brought its own challenges. She's frustrated at work, and her childless marriage to Nicholas, a surgeon she met in the Army, is strained.
Laura is devastated when news arrives that Frances, her best friend from the front, has taken her own life. Turning to the wartime journal she has kept hidden away, Laura is plunged back into memories of the bonds forged amid chaos on the front lines of North Africa, during the siege of Anzio, and at a refugee camp in Italy.
While her husband takes on an overseas assignment, Laura wrestles with her grief and guilt over Frances' death. Then she meets Boyer, a wounded veteran who shares her pain. Their connection is intense-and dangerous, threatening to upend her life entirely.
Triage is an intimate portrait of a woman's hard-won journey through love, loss, and a quest for redemption.
296 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 31, 2026
A World War II novel that explores veterans issues still relevant today
Elisa Speranza’s Triage, set during and soon after World War II, highlights the impact of untreated post-traumatic stress disorder on veterans who experience combat and its aftermath. The story introduces us to Laura, an army nurse from a Sicilian-American family in New Orleans, who serves in Europe and North Africa, witnessing the horrors of war on the front lines. Her journey includes finding love, losing close friends and patients, and returning home without the support needed to address a deepening mental health crisis. Add to that the fact that she is a woman, and a nurse, during a time when women’s contributions to the Allied victory, and their resulting struggles, were severely discounted and often not acknowledged at all.
Triage is a page turner, a story that explores war’s inhumanity, and its effect on those whose job it is to bind the wounds of the injured, while subjecting themselves to great physical and emotional peril. It is also a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of friendship.
Elisa Speranza’s Triage, set during and soon after World War II, highlights the impact of untreated post-traumatic stress disorder on veterans who experience combat and its aftermath. The story introduces us to Laura, an army nurse from a Sicilian-American family in New Orleans, who serves in Europe and North Africa, witnessing the horrors of war on the front lines. Her journey includes finding love, losing close friends and patients, and returning home without the support needed to address a deepening mental health crisis. Add to that the fact that she is a woman, and a nurse, during a time when women’s contributions to the Allied victory, and their resulting struggles, were severely discounted and often not acknowledged at all.
Triage is a page turner, a story that explores war’s inhumanity, and its effect on those whose job it is to bind the wounds of the injured, while subjecting themselves to great physical and emotional peril. It is also a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of friendship.
September 19, 2026
I finished Triage and immediately missed it.
I grew up in a family where World War II was everywhere. It was central to my parents' experience, and they talked about it often, so as a kid I tuned it out. Now that I'm older, I have a much deeper respect for what that generation lived through, and this book found me at the right time.
Elisa Speranza tells the story through the nurses, and it showed me a side of the war I hadn't really considered. Following Laura Marino from North Africa to Anzio to a refugee camp in Italy, I felt like I was standing beside these women as they made impossible decisions in seconds. My father was a driver for a doctor in WWII, so he was probably standing near people just like these characters. I thought of him on nearly every page, and I found myself wishing he were still here so I could talk to him about it.
Most of all, I fell in love with these characters. They felt so real that I was genuinely sad when the book ended, like saying goodbye to people I'd come to know.
I know Elisa, but I'd recommend Triage regardless. Whether WWII is a story you grew up with or one you've never picked up, this one is really about people. It would also make a wonderful book club choice.
I grew up in a family where World War II was everywhere. It was central to my parents' experience, and they talked about it often, so as a kid I tuned it out. Now that I'm older, I have a much deeper respect for what that generation lived through, and this book found me at the right time.
Elisa Speranza tells the story through the nurses, and it showed me a side of the war I hadn't really considered. Following Laura Marino from North Africa to Anzio to a refugee camp in Italy, I felt like I was standing beside these women as they made impossible decisions in seconds. My father was a driver for a doctor in WWII, so he was probably standing near people just like these characters. I thought of him on nearly every page, and I found myself wishing he were still here so I could talk to him about it.
Most of all, I fell in love with these characters. They felt so real that I was genuinely sad when the book ended, like saying goodbye to people I'd come to know.
I know Elisa, but I'd recommend Triage regardless. Whether WWII is a story you grew up with or one you've never picked up, this one is really about people. It would also make a wonderful book club choice.
June 29, 2026
After reading Elisa Speranza’s debut novel, “The Italian Prisoner,” I was looking forward to her next book, “Triage,” and she didn’t disappoint. Speranza weaves a fascinating story between the experiences of her protagonist, Laura, who is a nurse in World War II, and the challenges she faces upon returning home. Laura is a complex character who we can’t help but sympathize with as she struggles to make peace with the horrors she witnessed and, at the same time, integrate back into civilian life. Speranza creates a vivid picture of an often-overlooked subject, our wartime nurses and what it was like for them to serve so near the battlefront. As a fan of good storytelling and historical fiction, I highly recommend this book.
August 16, 2026
With beautiful prose and perfect pacing, "Triage" brings you into the realities of WWII from a nurse's perspective, both as the overlooked heroes of the battlefield, saving lives as bombs literally drop around them, and the post-war challenges of PTSD. Still plagued with the "Anzio shakes", Nurse Laura Marino tries to return to normal life in New Orleans, and the expectation that as a woman, "she's strong and should just get over it." Book clubs will find much to discuss, especially the (not always fabulous) choices Laura makes as her unresolved trauma endangers both her job and marriage. Ideal for fans of Kristin Hannah's "The Women," "Triage" is an engrossing page-turner of a tale. Highly recommend!!
July 15, 2026
I stayed up all night to finish Triage by Elisa M. Speranza. I was captivated both by the story of nurses in WWII which I knew nothing about, and by the main character Laura and her journey. She was/is a flawed character which makes her even more compelling. Who wants to read about a perfect person? I was rooting for her and hoping she would make wise decisions and sympathized with her when she didn’t. Speranza’s research for this historical fiction is also amazing. I learned so much about the medical teams during WWII and just how harrowing their work was. I am grateful for getting so immersed in this novel. Highly Recommend it.
September 3, 2026
Triage is a moving and deeply human story about the wounds of war that remain long after the fighting ends.
Elisa M. Speranza brings Laura’s wartime memories, grief, guilt, and complicated search for healing vividly to life. I especially appreciated the focus on the women who carried the emotional and practical burdens of war and then had to find their way back into ordinary life.
A powerful choice for readers of WWII historical fiction, women’s fiction, and emotionally rich stories of survival and redemption.
Elisa M. Speranza brings Laura’s wartime memories, grief, guilt, and complicated search for healing vividly to life. I especially appreciated the focus on the women who carried the emotional and practical burdens of war and then had to find their way back into ordinary life.
A powerful choice for readers of WWII historical fiction, women’s fiction, and emotionally rich stories of survival and redemption.
May 24, 2026
Fabulous historical fiction novel showcasing the inspiring nurses of WWII and their lives after. The author created vivid worlds where we see the characters in their full humanity. Speranza knows her subject matter and perfectly depicts the New Orleans of the 50s and the Sicilians who lived there.
June 9, 2026
I love reading a book where I learn about history through the eyes of a character. Triage showed a couple of new worlds - what it was like to be an Army nurse on the front lines in lesser known (to me) theaters, and what it was like for women who returned and were expected to "get over" the trauma they'd experienced.
July 31, 2026
Elisa Speranza has done it again! “Triage” draws you in from the start, and never lets go of your heart. World War 2 nurses, often overlooked when people talk about the heroism of that time, are honored in this book. The characters are so alive. I couldn’t put it down, but then felt a loss when I finished.
July 31, 2026
A powerful novel telling the story of nurses during WWII through the protagonist's journey from war-torn North Africa and Italy back home to New Orleans, where settling back to "real life," is full of its own land mines. Suspenseful, heartbreaking, and ultimately rewarding, this book will keep you reading late into the night.
July 31, 2026
I love the book! I was drawn in from the start. You really feel for these nurses. They were cast aside after the war even though they served right alongside men. I never knew this dark side of our history and Elisa unfolds it beautifully.
July 31, 2026
Loved it!! Amazing work. Gave me much to think about with my 4 aunts who were WWII nurses and I only wish they were around to ask more questions of—though they never really spoke of it of course. This gives great insight into their experiences. Such an important perspective and a dramatic read.
July 30, 2026
Fantastic book! The war time scenes were very gripping and the characters felt very real. I highly recommend this novel.
August 23, 2026
A fascinating and informative read about women, war, love and loss.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews