Healing Wounds

A Vietnam War Combat Nurse's 10-Year Fight to Win Women a Place of Honor in Washington, D.C.

By: Diane Carlson Evans, Bob Welch - contributor, Joseph Galloway - foreword

Narrated by: Janet Metzger

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

What is the price of honor? It took 10 years for Vietnam War Nurse Diane Carlson Evans to answer that question - and the answer was a heavy one.

In 1983, when Evans came up with the vision for the first-ever memorial on the National Mall to honor women who'd worn a military uniform, she wouldn't be deterred. She remembered not only her sister veterans, but also the hundreds of young wounded men she had cared for, as she expressed during a Congressional hearing in Washington, DC: "Women didn't have to enter military service, but we stepped up to serve believing we belonged with our brothers-in-arms and now we belong with them at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. If they belong there, we belong there. We were there for them then. We mattered."

In the end, those wounded soldiers who had survived proved to be there for their sisters-in-arms, joining their fight for honor in Evans' journey of combating unforeseen bureaucratic obstacles and facing mean-spirited opposition. Her impassioned story of serving in Vietnam is a crucial backstory to her fight to honor the women she served beside. She details the gritty and high-intensity experience of being a nurse in the midst of combat and becomes an unlikely hero who ultimately serves her country again as a formidable force in her daunting quest for honor and justice.

©2020 Diane Carlson Evans (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Excellent book. The true and real story of the Vietnam Woman’s Memorial.

I loved that it was read or narrated by the author. Hearing her voice and her words made this book more understandable, clearer and interesting.

Moving Tribute to those that served

I wish I had read this before my visit to Washington DC. The history behind and the meaning of the statue is deeply moving. So much respect for those that have served out country.

God Bless your persistence

An amazing story of fighting for something that is right. I was amazed by all of the negativity and resistance for this memorial!
God Bless Diane and her family for the sacrifices they made.

very moving

I'm so moved by this story! As a child of the 80s, I've always been intrigued by the war and appalled at the way veterans were treated. I've never even thought about the women in the war. I really hope to go back to the memorial this summer!

Her perseverance

I listened to Kristen Hannah’s book The Women and was so touched I needed to read more. Obviously Diane Carlson shaped Hannah’s main character. This book was a testimony to so many women who served. I learned even more about the war. I think everyone would benefit from her story.

Excellent

For those of us that are children of Vietnam Vets, it’s fuzzy what our parents did. This book brought a lot of insight into what women went through and what the war and various protests were about. My father served. I would have liked to know his story but agent Orange killed him before I was adult enough to ask.

Fortitude

I was never wounded in Vietnam but I visited a lot of shot up guys. This story echoes what I saw but I never really felt their pain. To me nurses were just another MOS doing a job in the rear area. We all reflect on our experiences but they are a very special group. Without whom a lot more guys would not be here today. The memorial reflects that and they deserve a rightful place of honor

Excellent!

This book is just great! I’ve learned so much from this book and I highly recommend it. Thank you for your service & welcome home, ma’am!

Excellent book

I had the honor of working with 3 Vietnam nurses back in the 70s and 80s. Without exception they were some of the best nurses I’ve worked beside. Looking back I realize that something about them set them apart. Now I know why.

Fascinating glimpse into Vietnam and one woman’s journey to come home and help all women vets heal

It’s surely a lot of work to narrate an audiobook but I wish the author had narrated it. The narrator was okay but I think I reading it instead of listening would have enhanced the material this time.

Thank you Diane for your tireless efforts to achieve a women’s memorial! I’m not a veteran nor do I have any members of the military in my family, I just am thankful that the patriarchy finally acknowledged the importance of this statue and the role of women during conflict. It should never have taken so long and after learning the history of it, I have such an appreciation for the memorial and the people it represents.