Courage Under Fire

At Your Service

by Candice Poarch

Courage Under Fire by Candice Poarch released on Jun 24, 2003 is available now for purchase.

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Even as a child Candice Poarch was a dreamer and created scenes in her mind. She quickly fell in love with writing stories centered around families and romance. The quest for love is universal, she says. Being familiar with rural Virginia, she portrays a sense of community and mutual support in her novels, many of which are set in small-town America.

Candice grew up in Stony Creek, Virginia, south of Richmond, but now resides in northern Virginia. She has been married for thirty years and is the mother of three children. A former computer-systems manager, she has now made writing her full-time career.

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arlene Taft is grieving. She is having a hard time discerning which was worst: the fact that Ronald died or that he was discovered with his mistress. On September 11th, Lieutenant Colonel Arlene Taft reluctantly reports to work at Walter Reed Hospital as a registered nurse while she figures out what to do with her life. Her assignment was to care for Lieutenant Colonel Neal Allen who was severely injured in the bombing of the Pentagon. Allen coincidently happens to be her military brat next-door neighbor from grade school. Taft tends to his every need, reassures his family during his recovery and develops a friendship with Neal's niece, April. Neal cannot believe Arlene takes the time to talk with April during his long-term stay at the hospital. Under the circumstances he thought she would be acting as a woman scorned.

Fast-forward eighteen months, Taft and Allen meet again in Germany. Quickly they rekindle a romantic relationship. Neal decides to disclose what he knows about Ronald and risk losing Arlene forever. Now Arlene must face the demons of her past in order to find love. Will Arlene, Neal and April come together as a family?

There are too many sub-plots in this romance to make it a good read. Arlene is a woman that has been burnt in love once and is scared to trust again. Neal is dealing with the death of his sister while raising her daughter as a single man. April is an adolescent dealing with life never knowing her father's love. Then there are issues with the family - Ronald's mother is dying from grief and the Allen family can't get over the deception of their daughter's lover. The only part of this romance that deals with the military is the setting. Poarch could have dealt more with the trials of military service after 9/11. This was another predictable romance novel. If you plan on reading this one, get ready for a sleeper.

[Nanto]

Kenapa sampul bukunya malah Danzel Washington yah? Soalnya dorongan untuk saya menonton film dengan judul yang sama dengan buku ini, saya tertarik oleh Meg Ryan. Bintang film komedi romantik itu kok bisanya main dalam film bersetting Perang Teluk II (Iraq vs Koalisi Internasional).

Namun setelah saya menonton filmnya, saya semakin kaget. Filmnya sangat sarat pesan buat saya. Latar pertempuran di gurun pasir itu jusru mengangkat persoalan pelik dari kaum berseragam penyandang bedil itu: heroisme. Persoalan lain adalah rantai komando dan kepemimpinan.

Dua hal itu memang digambarkan dengan kuat oleh tokoh yang diperankan oleh Denzel Washington dan Meg Ryan. Beratnya menjadi pemimpin dalam pertempuran.

Denzel yang memerankan kolonel komandan sebuah kesatuan tank di Perang Iraq II. Ia menghadapi sebuah dilema saat akhirnya dia sadar telah melakukan friendly fire. Meg Ryan lebih berat lagi. Ia seorang perempuan dengan pangkat tertinggi saat helokopternya jatuh tertembak di tengah gurun. Drama bagi Meg Ryan adalah saat kepemimpinannya diragukan oleh anak buahnya. Saat haknya untuk memimpin dan memutuskan diabaikan oleh anak buahnya yang sepatutnya patuh. Tak selamanya keputusan diambil oleh suara mayoritas, saat itu berkait dengan tanggung jawab yang penuh pada pimpinan. "That would be great if this democracy. But it isn't!" Alasan jawaban otoritarian itu terletak pada lanjutan ucapan Ryan, "we stay with Rady. I wouldn't risk your lives. I wont risk his"

Tentang keperkasaan perempuan dalam menghadapi kesakitan, saya suka jawaban Ryan saat "dikasihani" waktu ia tertembak perutnya oleh peluru senapan anak buahnya, "I give birth to a 9 pound baby, ass hole..I think I can handle it!"

*stop selingannya-besok sambung sama kutipan suratnya yang keren abis* Hiks terharu!