Heaven in the Midst of Hell: A Quaker Chaplain's View of the War in Iraq [Hardcover]

Sheri Snively (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

Award-Winning Finalist in the History: Military/Political category of the Best Books 2010 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News

War exposes the divide between who we think we are and how we behave in extreme situations. Commander Sheri Snively has crafted a vivid, unsettling, and ultimately hopeful personal account of the effects of the Iraq war on soldiers and civilians alike who find themselves astride that dilemma.

From her unique perspective as a Navy Quaker chaplain serving with the Marines working amid the boredom, tension, and seemingly meaningless carnage at a trauma hospital and morgue between Ramadi and Fallujah, Commander Snively negotiates a compassionate path to healing marked not by formulaic answers, but by an open and questioning spirit.

Lavishly adorned with the author's own evocative photographs, Heaven in the Midst of Hell is a compelling and unforgettable journey into the human soul.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The growing body of literature about the Iraq War is characterized by themes of courage and hell. This moving book, by a U.S. Navy Quaker chaplain working with Marines at a trauma hospital and morgue near the action-packed cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, shares those themes but offers more. Snively accompanies her text, a blend of reflection and reportage, with more than 100 color photographs that can bring the desert war, with its mix of sand and blood, vividly home. Both text and photos convey the everyday details of life and death in the war zone: a menorah made of Coke cans, beanie babies piled on the bed of an Iraqi patient, smiling soldiers. Snively doesn't offer a big-picture overview, but heaven and hell are in these personal details. From the perspective of a medical chaplain, the two sides are "life" and "death" rather than "us" and "them." In a foreword, Marine Gen. James N. Mattis notes the wrestling match between Quaker pacifist tradition and the warrior culture of soldiers. Quakers were originally known as "publishers of the truth," and this Quaker chaplain fulfills that spiritual mandate.
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Review

''This book is a must for anyone wanting to learn about the psychological and spiritual side of war.''
--Robert Grant, PhD, author of The Way of the Wound: A Spirituality of Trauma and Transformation

''Through her struggles to make sense of the loss of life and the destruction of war, Sheri Snively draws strength from God and the soldiers she served. Her book is a masterful tribute to the men and women who choose to serve in the U.S. military.''
--Ed Nixon, author of The Nixons: A Family Portrait, president of Nixon World Enterprises, Inc.

''Snively writes from her heart and soul. Together she and 'her' Marines faced life, death, the carnage of war and the effects of PTSD. Snively shares the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the questions for which there are no answers.''
--Jim Greenwald, Lead Reviewer, The Military Writers Society of America

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Raven Oaks Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981992609
• ISBN-13: 978-0981992600
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing look at the positives the US military presence can bring, March 2, 2010

By 

Amanda S. Armstrong PhD (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heaven in the Midst of Hell: A Quaker Chaplain's View of the War in Iraq (Hardcover)

Reserve Chaplin Snively leaves home and family to be with "her Marines" in the depths of the conflict in Iraq. With elegant pictures she serves up a series of vignettes of daily life in the war zone with the delicacy of an artist. Glimpses of nature, of human warmth and interaction which appear woven into the accounts of death and carnage give way to finely rendered extended episodes revealing how Chaplin Snively served to open the doors to spiritual support and healing which reveal the presence of the Divine in the most mundane events and even among the truly tragic events which unfold in war. It is impossible to finish the book and not find oneself wishing we had more Americans with the perspective and spirit, both active and passive, she brought to the front. It is a welcome reminder that not all American military efforts have been tarnished.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars -Riveting, December 31, 2011

By 

chuckmatthews "chuckmatthews" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heaven in the Midst of Hell: A Quaker Chaplain's View of the War in Iraq (Hardcover)

This inside look into the hell that is our war in Afghanistan is incredible. I like the first hand account of what's going on. Set in the hospital, this chaplain retells the stories of suffering and miracle in short easy to read anecdotes. Not just your average "war memoir". It is a look from a different perspective, from that of a "woman of the cloth" a lady preacher ministering to the wounded in a war zone. Blood, guts and miracles.