Crossings

A Doctor-Soldier's Story

By: Jon Kerstetter

Narrated by: Paul Woodson

In Iraq, as a medic and officer, Jon Kerstetter balanced two impossibly conflicting imperatives - to heal and to kill. When he suffered an injury and then a stroke during his third tour, he wound up back home in Iowa, no longer able to be either a doctor or a soldier.

In this gorgeous memoir that moves from his impoverished upbringing on an Oneida reservation, to his harrowing stints as a volunteer medic in Kosovo and Bosnia, through the madness of Iraq and his intense mandate to assemble a team to identify the remains of Uday and Qusay Hussein, and the struggle afterward to come to terms with a life irrevocably changed, Kerstetter beautifully illuminates war and survival, the fragility of the human body, and the strength of will that lies within.

©2017 Jon Kerstetter (P)2017 HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books

Great story, thought provoking

The story was great!! To go against the expectations of his tribe, his counselors, and his family took a great deal of self belief and assurance. Now we have Native American doctors, lawyers, and others who are well educated in the hard sciences, and it is not as unusual, sort of like when it was said that women were not suited for some professions.
After hearing the interview with the author on PBS, I was rapidly searching for this book.... I also went on Google to see pictures of the author, both on deployment and with his family.
My only hope is that there eventually ( soon, I hope) is a sequel. Dr Kerstetter has his MFA now, so he should write another book...STAT!!
The narrator— well, not so much. There were a few mispronunciations of medical terms... as a medical professional, I am probably more sensitive to that than most people. The narrator’s voice did not “fit,” for some reason. That may be that I had heard the interview with Dr Kerstetter on PBS, and therefore had unknowingly fashioned expectations of a “certain “ voice.
Would I read/listen to it again? ABSOLUTELY!!

Excellent, but could have used some more combat

This was an excellent biography that will appeal to any aspiring doctor, as long as you don’t expect a war novel because it definitely isn’t that. I’d say maybe 20% takes place “over there”.