A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of 26 American Women Who Served in Vietnam [Paperback]

Keith Walker (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 5, 1997

Records the memories of a war in the words of those women courageous enough to walk into hell. --San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A decade after America pulled out of Vietnam, the seeds of the often heart- wrenching oral history, A Piece of My Heart, were sown when writer and filmmaker Keith Walker met a woman who had been an emergency room nurse in Cu Chi and Da Nang. She and 25 others recount the time they spent "in country" as part of 15,000 American women who volunteered or served as nurses and in the military. After working on too many mutilated young men, one nurse tells of wanting to ask her mother to "check around and see if she could find one whole eighteen-year- old." Like male veterans, many returned with post-traumatic stress disorder. They found it hard to shake the numbness that made a war zone bearable or to settle into a life minus manic highs and lows. "The one thing Nam did for me was that I felt like I could walk on water," says a nurse, a conviction that made later jobs seem worthless or impossibly bland.

From Publishers Weekly

Some 15,000 American women served in Vietnam during the war. As one of them remarks in this collection of extended monologues, "The war really did a number on all of us, the women as well as the men." Despite sexual harassment, ambiguous feelings about the Vietnamese and traumatic combat-zone experiences, the women whose voices are heard here recall their wartime service in a generally positive light. Most of them were military nurses and WACs, but there are also Red Cross and USO volunteers, as well as a civilian flight attendant and a radio personality named Chris Noel, whose voice was familiar to thousands of homesick GIs. No great revelations or insights here; despite the book's twist of focusing on servicewomen, it's all rather predictable. Photos.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Press; Reprint edition (February 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089141617X
• ISBN-13: 978-0891416173
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.8 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #799,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Apiece of all our Hearts June 6, 2000

By HAROLD M MCCLURE

Format:Paperback

Being a Vietnam vet,I had never Watched any of the movies or read any of the many books, till this one came alone,and I'm still not sure why. Once I started it I never wanted to put it down. I could feel all their pains,fears,anger,and depression as the war still put holes in my heart.As I read the book the 3rd time it was as if a weight of 20 years ago was suddenly lifted from my chest.A light came on and said -you're not alone,many suffered as you had,in silence. My ist book is now so worn from me passing it around to my friends that I my soon have to buy the 2nd edition model.If you want to understand the human sufferings of war--read this book

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars incredible stories -- incredible women August 29, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

this is quite possibly one of the most moving books i have ever read. the honesty of the women's memoirs -- their bravery and sacrificial service are to be applauded! kudos to keith walker for compiling a story that needed to be told! read it read it read it!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I ws there at a hospital July 24, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

It has been a few years since I read this book. I found it stunning. I was an infantryman with the 1st Air Cav, wounded Aug of '71 and evaced to the 24th Evac hospital. I saw and even felt the experiences these women went through. This book is tells the stories of all types of women and the many jobs they performed both civilian and military, the trouble they had coming home. This book made me feel thankful that all I had to do was fight the war. I would especially recommend it to veterans of all periods. It will make you love these ladies.