Non-fiction – Page 16

Mayhem 337: Memoir of a Combat Advisor in Afghanistan by Chad Rickard

“Gritty, graphic, and real.” Winner of several major book awards! Senior Infantry Sergeant Chad Rickard takes you through a harrowing tour as an embedded infantry advisor to the Afghan National Army. A veteran of numerous combat tours with the U.S. Army, Rickard faced his ultimate challenge in Khost Province Afghanistan as he battled Haqqani Taliban in 2009. Often outnumbered, his team skillfully directed artillery and close air support to even the odds and inflict great damage upon their enemies. From large-scale mountain warfare, to close quarters battle on the streets of Khost City, his memoir leaves nothing to the imagination.

Angel of Mercy by Melina Druga

She had her entire life planned until the Great War began and everything changed.

April 1914. Barrie, Ontario. Hettie Steward is feisty, educated, ambitious and stubborn. Her fiancé, Geoffrey Bartlette, the love of her life since childhood, has been a patient man. He waited while she attended nursing school and worked a year, but now it is time to wed. While Hettie is thrilled to be starting her life with Geoffrey, she laments that marriage means sacrificing her beloved nursing career, and domestic life brings her nothing but drudgery and boredom.

When the Great War begins a few months into their marriage, Geoffrey enlists and persuades Hettie to join the Canadian Army Nursing Service and follow him overseas. After all, everyone says the war will be short, and it will be their opportunity to have a proper honeymoon. Returning to work is exactly what Hettie was craving, and she eager accepts.

The war, however, does not end quickly. Soon tragedy strikes, proving true the old adage “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” Geoffrey is killed at the Second Battle of Ypres, and Hettie is faced with a choice. Return home or stay in Europe and continue nursing? Moreover, will she discover the person she is meant to be now that her life has been steered onto a new path?

Angel of Mercy is the first in a trilogy following Hettie and her family as they navigate the challenges and heartbreak World War 1 brings. Each novel is a standalone story.

Also available: Those Left Behind, the home front story. Adjustment Year, the homecoming story.