Rule Number Two, Heidi Squier Kraft
Rule Number Two, Heidi Squier Kraft
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Rule Number Two
Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital

Author: Heidi Squier Kraft

Narrator: Heidi Squier Kraft

Unabridged: 6 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/03/2024


Synopsis

When Lieutenant Commander Heidi Kraft's twin son and daughter were fifteen months old, she was deployed to Iraq. A clinical psychologist in the US Navy, Kraft's job was to uncover the wounds of war that a surgeon would never see. She put away thoughts of her children back home, acclimated to the sound of incoming rockets, and learned how to listen to the most traumatic stories a war zone has to offer.

One of the toughest lessons of her deployment was perfectly articulated by the TV show M*A*S*H: "There are two rules of war. Rule number one is that young men die. Rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one." Some Marines, Kraft realized, and even some of their doctors, would be damaged by war in ways she could not repair. And sometimes, people were repaired in ways she never expected.

Rule Number Two is a powerful firsthand account of providing comfort admidst the chaos of war, and of what it takes to endure.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Abby on August 27, 2011

Okay. Rarely do I read other people's reviews of a book that I liked and get annoyed that they didn't like it as much as me. Mostly I just think they're probably dumb. Not really, I'm just kidding. Everybody has different tastes. But I just read some of the reviews on here that didn't like this book......more

Goodreads review by Alec on March 14, 2013

this book is absolutly amazing, its so easy to get lost in whats happening in the book. i can tell yeah, i burned the midnight oil reading this book. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!! i swear everytime heidi would get a letter from home it made it feel so real. ( if thats makes sense) like i felt as if the......more

Goodreads review by Thomas on August 23, 2009

I'm admittedly biased. Heidi, the author, is my sister-in-law. When her twin children, her only children, were 15 months old, Heidi was deployed to Iraq. She was a clinical psychologist in the Navy there for 7 months. We received regular e-mail updates from her that made the war in Iraq very close a......more

Goodreads review by Mike on February 22, 2013

In today's world, there are so few citizens that truly represent the best of society. Our soldiers, airmen and sailors reflect our country and demonstrate, in many cases, extraordinary values. Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft is one of those fine servicewomen. But this story is really about the soldiers she s......more

Goodreads review by Lucy on August 07, 2023

An interesting read on life inside of a combat hospital in Iraq in 2004. Dr. Kraft provided insight into the perspective of a an officer, who never expected to be directly put in harms way, but nevertheless found herself with a pistol in her hand and Kevlar on her head. It was also fascinating to re......more


Quotes

"Every American needs to read this."—General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Ret), former commander of U.S. Central Command

"One of the most amazing books I have ever read..."—Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, USA (Ret), author of On Killing and On Combat

"A necessary but uncomfortable book for anyone wishing to understand."—Jay Freeman, Booklist

"The welcome mat for memoirs by veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom might never wear out so long as they write with the sincerity of Squier Kraft...(who) wins respect with genuine empathy."—J. Ford Huffman, Military Times