Synopsis
Nettie and Andy have been soul mates since the sandbox days. While planning their wedding, Andy deploys to South Vietnam for a year. Unable to quell her anxiety about Andy, Nettie dives into her work as a nursing intern in the emergency room. She inadvertently walks in on a nursing supervisor and surgeon during a late-night tryst in the shadowy recesses of the hospital. The vengeful lovers initiate a campaign to discredit Nettie and sabotage her internship.
In Southeast Asia, Andy is leading a reconnaissance squad when he receives orders to escort a high-ranking female freedom fighter, Bien, to a clandestine meeting with an enemy officer who wants to defect. Raped, beaten, and left for dead by North Vietnamese soldiers, Bien is suspicious of the enemy officer’s motives. But something tells her he may be the long-lost brother that her attackers conscripted into their army as a child. Andy believes his unit is walking into a trap that could cost him everything.
Struggling to survive in different worlds, Nettie and Andy navigate the best and worst of human nature as they try to find their way back to each other.
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Praise
In this wise and beautiful novel, Pam Webber writes about two kinds of courage: the kind that goes to war, and the kind that stays home. Set in 1972, Webber tells the story of Nettie, a nursing intern who works in the emergency room of a Virginia hospital, and Andy, her soulmate, who is sent to Vietnam to be a squad leader. An inspiring story of love, resilience and faith. – Susan Breen, author of the Maggie Dove mystery series
I highly recommend this book to those who not only want to read a great story, but also feel what real love, respect, and caring are about–what duty, honor, and country really mean. – Edythe A. McGoff, MSN, RN, CEN, FAEN, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret)
Review
Life Dust – One who is left behind.
I’ll start by saying that I loved this book! This story is told from two points of view – Andy and Nettie. They are an engaged couple in the early 1970s, and he is shipped out to Vietnam to fight in the war. Nettie is a nursing student doing an internship at a local hospital. Despite being separated, they are still connected through letters and a few phone calls that Andy is lucky enough to be able to make from the jungles of Vietnam.
While I have no idea how accurate the details are of the war in Vietnam, I found myself rethinking what I did know and what the people were fighting for over there. The book also brings to light MIA and POWs. I was impressed that the author included an organization that was formed during this time to help bring home these missing men and the lengths they went to in fighting politicians and the Pentagon to gather more information and bring closure for families.
I loved how the story was told from both Andy’s and Nettie’s points of view. They were both experiencing different things, and seeing it through their eyes gave me a better understanding of their lives. Andy led a squad of men that did recon work to determine where the North Vietnamese were located and determine if there was anything the military needed to know about their actions. There are many tense moments, as you can imagine, and I have more respect than ever for our military and what they do to protect us. Nettie has her own issues at the hospital where she is interning, from a head nurse that has taken an instant dislike to her and sets out to make her life miserable. The bright spot in all of this is Mr. Pepper, a dying patient, but he forges a bond of friendship with Nettie. Turns out, there is a lot more to his story that we learn as time passes.
Even with all of the turmoil in their lives, neither one loses faith in themselves and a higher power. This faith helps them endure strenuous situations and believe that all will be right in the world.
While this is a sequel to Moon Water, this book can be read independently. I now want to go back and read this book to watch Andy and Nettie’s relationship blossom.
We give this book 5 paws up.
About the Author
As the Amazon bestselling author of The Wiregrass and Moon Water, Pam Webber has won accolades from Historical Novel Society, Southern Literary Review, and Ingram Book Buzz. She has been a featured panelist at Virginia Festival of the Book, the Library of Virginia, and James River Writers, and speaks to literary groups and book clubs.
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I hope that many enjoy this story as much as I did. While I understand why some people protested the war, I think that they didn’t think about trying to help others find the same sort of democracy that we have here.
I really did enjoy this book, more than I expected! Since I was just a young tyke during Viet Nam, there is a lot I don’t know and this helped share some details.
Thank you Leslie! So glad you enjoyed the story(-: I hope your followers do as well. Happy Holidays to all! Best, Pam
Leslie- Knowing how busy and in demand you are, I just want to say thank you for writing this review. You bring a unique perspective to it as a non-Boomer, a viewpoint that shows the broad appeal that the story has for a wide variety of readers. Thanks for spending time with the story and for sharing your thoughts with us. Happy Holidays!