NONFICTION
“Unbreakable Bonds: The Mighty Moms and Wounded Warriors of Walter Reed”
by Dava Guerin and Kevin Ferris
Skyhorse, 224 pages, $19.95
There is nothing quite like a mother’s love.
A mother gives birth and nurtures the child until it’s time to leave home. Yet even after a child leaves home and volunteers to join the military and travel halfway around the world to fight in a war, a mother’s love remains a very strong bond.
That bond was in evidence when 10 strong, brave, resourceful and loving mothers had to care for their wounded warriors. Dava Guerin, a communications consultant and freelance writer, and Kevin Ferris, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s commentary editor, have written an insightful book that illustrates how the 10 “mighty moms” responded to the needs of their sons (and one daughter) after they returned home from the wars.
In “Unbreakable Bonds,” we learn how these mothers gave up their jobs, homes and family without hesitation and came to the side of their children as they underwent multiple operations and painful and frustrating recovery and rehabilitation. The book also shows how the mothers banded together to take on each other’s pain, frustration and worries. They also banded together to occasionally take on hospital staff and administration.
One of the 10 mothers, Stacy Fidler, recalls how terrified she was when she first entered her son’s ICU room at the Walter Reed Bethesda National Military Medical Center. Mark Fidler was unconscious, tubes running into his body. He had suffered severe trauma, and Stacy Fidler was uncertain whether he would live or die.
“Stacy’s inner ‘mama grizzly’ kicked in, and from that day on she became tougher than the toughest drill instructor, and a fierce protector of her now wounded warrior son,” the authors write.
We learn that spouses of the wounded warriors who are treated at Walter Reed are the legal decision-makers when their “other half” is injured and they can live with them during rehabilitation.
While the mothers can live with their wounded warriors as well, their financial and legal issues are much more complicated. The mothers are considered nonmedical attendants and they are paid only $72 a day to provide round-the-clock care for their sons or daughters.
I expected far more criticism of Walter Reed in the book. Although the mothers complain about administrative issues and isolated medical incidents, there is much praise for the military hospital’s medical staff.
“Unbreakable Bonds” is a well-written and compelling book about perseverance, patriotism, family, faith and hope.
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