Run, Don't Walk: The Curious and Chaotic Life of a Physical Therapist Inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center Hardcover – April 10, 2014
Author: Visit Amazon's Adele Levine Page | Language: English | ISBN: 1583335390 | Format: PDF, EPUB
Run, Don't Walk: The Curious and Chaotic Life of a Physical Therapist Inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center – April 10, 2014
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From Booklist
Is it possible to write a funny memoir about being a physical therapist who works with amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center? Surprisingly, yes. It helps that the soldiers hit by “improvised explosive devices” manage to keep a sense of humor. Some wear T-shirts with sayings like, “I Had a Blast in Afghanistan.” Others teasingly call each other names like “Ugly Stump.” Colorful, expletive-spewing Cosmo is the central patient in Levine’s engaging story, though readers learn at the book’s conclusion that he’s actually a composite figure created “for privacy reasons.” That aside, Levine shares fascinating historical tidbits about Walter Reed (which in 2011 closed its famous Washington, D.C., building and moved to Bethesda, Maryland), beginning with its being named after the young army doctor who discovered the cause of yellow fever. Celebrity watchers will like learning that the prince among the many Hollywood stars who visit the wounded warriors is Project Runway star Tim Gunn. Levine also openly and admirably talks about her female partners. In all, an eye-opening and compassionate chronicle. --Karen Springen
Review
"A bittersweet chronicle about caretaking for the nonlethal casualties of war." - Kirkus Reviews
"Is it possible to write a funny memoir about being a physical therapist who works with amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center? Surprisingly, yes." - Booklist
"If you're looking for a weepy inspirational book, run, don't walk in the opposite direction-Levine isn't here to jerk tears. Instead, she's written a mordantly funny account of how soldiers and their rehab teams really make it through amputation, PTSD, and more. And it's . . . an inspiration." - The Washingtonian
"Levine shines a light on the lives of soldiers and their families after the (perhaps) heroic welcome and the crowds have stopped cheering. It focuses on the time when it is up to them to cobble a life out of what is left of them." - New York Journal of Books
"This is one of those true stories that, when you're done reading, you'll wish you could read it again for the first time. And how could you resist a book like that?" - The Bookworm Sez
"Is it possible to write a funny memoir about being a physical therapist who works with amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center? Surprisingly, yes." - Booklist
"If you're looking for a weepy inspirational book, run, don't walk in the opposite direction-Levine isn't here to jerk tears. Instead, she's written a mordantly funny account of how soldiers and their rehab teams really make it through amputation, PTSD, and more. And it's . . . an inspiration." - The Washingtonian
"Levine shines a light on the lives of soldiers and their families after the (perhaps) heroic welcome and the crowds have stopped cheering. It focuses on the time when it is up to them to cobble a life out of what is left of them." - New York Journal of Books
"This is one of those true stories that, when you're done reading, you'll wish you could read it again for the first time. And how could you resist a book like that?" - The Bookworm Sez
"Adele has captured the unique, frenetic, protective world that was Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 2003 until its closure in 2011. Her dedication and the dedication of all who labored mightily there to save and rebuild our Wounded Warriors’ broken bodies and detoured lives is an overlooked part of modern warfare. Reading this book brought me right back to the hours I spent on a treatment table surrounded by my fellow Wounded Warriors as we pushed each other, using grit, gallows humor and even bribes of cookies in order to face yet another day of pain on our road back to our new futures. Read this book to gain a window into an aspect of combat and a cost that our troops, their families and their caretakers must bear that is no less heroic than those of the battlefield. "
—Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, Iraq War Veteran, former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs
"Run, Don't Walk captures the essence of what it was like to be at Walter Reed during its darkest days. And it is told by one of the true un-sung heroes of the wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: The Physical Therapist. It is heartbreaking and hilarious. Levine captures the disappointments, the heartache and the triumphs of the injured troops and the spirit of those determined to save them. Truly a remarkable book that tells a side of the war story very few ever witness or live to tell about."
—Cami McCormick, CBS News Correspondent
"I've never read anything like Run, Don’t Walk, except possibly the first chapter of Catch 22. Humor heals, comforts, and saves. Don't take my word for it. Read this magnificent book."
—Josh Hanagarne, author of The World’s Strongest Librarian
“An amputee rehabilitation center is a crucible of emotion, and this book throbs with the pulse of a human heart. The characters are hilarious, harsh, eccentric, brave, and real, portrayed with tenderness and unflinching honesty. Yet Levine moved me more with what she didn't say. A master of understatement, she paints a picture of what it's like to work at this strange job, patching up broken soldiers only to be sent back to war— and tells her own story, setting her own sorrows and struggles beside the pain of her amputee patients.”
—Lydia Netzer, author of Shine Shine Shine
—Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, Iraq War Veteran, former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs
"Run, Don't Walk captures the essence of what it was like to be at Walter Reed during its darkest days. And it is told by one of the true un-sung heroes of the wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: The Physical Therapist. It is heartbreaking and hilarious. Levine captures the disappointments, the heartache and the triumphs of the injured troops and the spirit of those determined to save them. Truly a remarkable book that tells a side of the war story very few ever witness or live to tell about."
—Cami McCormick, CBS News Correspondent
"I've never read anything like Run, Don’t Walk, except possibly the first chapter of Catch 22. Humor heals, comforts, and saves. Don't take my word for it. Read this magnificent book."
—Josh Hanagarne, author of The World’s Strongest Librarian
“An amputee rehabilitation center is a crucible of emotion, and this book throbs with the pulse of a human heart. The characters are hilarious, harsh, eccentric, brave, and real, portrayed with tenderness and unflinching honesty. Yet Levine moved me more with what she didn't say. A master of understatement, she paints a picture of what it's like to work at this strange job, patching up broken soldiers only to be sent back to war— and tells her own story, setting her own sorrows and struggles beside the pain of her amputee patients.”
—Lydia Netzer, author of Shine Shine Shine
See all Editorial Reviews
Books with free ebook downloads available Run, Don't Walk: The Curious and Chaotic Life of a Physical Therapist Inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center – April 10, 2014
- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Avery; 1 edition (April 10, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1583335390
- ISBN-13: 978-1583335390
- Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
- #19 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
- #39 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Injuries & Rehabilitation
Exceptionally gifted storyteller author/physical therapist Adele Levine, though seldom asked about her job, presents this colorful outstanding book: "Walk Don't Run", recalling her work rehabilitating poly-traumatic combat amputees. These young, (mostly enlisted) Army soldiers and Marines arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center within 72 hours of severe traumatic combat injury from the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. Highly skilled trained medics/surgeons were recognized for saving lives which in the past would have been lost.
The top floor of the Military Advanced Training Center (MATC), with the glass observatory walls, (to accommodate tour groups) was open for physical therapy from 0700-1600 hours daily, and began immediately. Military and civilian staff worked as a cordinated MATC team to deal with the large influx of patients walking around on stiff metal legs or pushing wheelchairs with stumps. Walter the therapy service dog, (with his proper service vest) was often called to nuzzle or lay his head on comforting an injured vet. On occasion, he would sneak past the Colonel, leaving his physical therapy duty station, to dine in the nearest cafeteria garbage can. There were also social workers, chaplains, Red Cross and other volunteers, who donated their time and energy to assist.
Especially with the challenging patients as double amputee Cosmo, who typically expressed himself with expletive F***, with an attitude to match; Levine used her unique gifts of humor, cheer, and positivity where in the MATC "everything was celebrated", to aid in patient recovery. Levine holds a doctorate degree in Physical Therapy graduating from the University of Maryland in 2005.
Wow! I've been trying to write this review for a couple of days now, but I am having a hard time articulating how much I love it and I so badly want to do it the justice it deserves...so I'll just try now! I have known and worked with Adele for the better part of a decade. She is an absolutely inspirational and insightful person in the way she can find humor during the most difficult and awkward times. That is a real gift - she makes people laugh in the face of tragedy and that laughter is what gives people a more optimistic perspective and motivation to move forward - whether they are staff members, patients, or sick family members.
I laughed and cried throughout this book. All of the stories are true, and it gives people outside of Walter Reed a really accurate glimpse into a world that nobody else has captured in this way. Most importantly to me, it gives the people who worked at "the old Walter Reed" a memoir of our own - stories that I'm sure would otherwise be long forgotten. The staff would often gather in the back of the clinic during times like the clown visits and just say "You can't make this sort of thing up - I hope somebody is writing this down!"...such surreal moments! Her book also captures some heartbreaking stories and sheds light on what so many of these brave men and women have gone through and continue to go through today. It was a different time, and so uniquely special and life changing to all of us there. It was truly the end of an era when we closed those doors. Adele's writing captures it all perfectly, but she maintains a sensitivity that is vital in a story like this. People would do well to read this book, as we really don't read or hear about these stories anymore in the news.
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