Home Before Morning

The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam

By: Lynda Van Devanter

Narrated by: Ann Sprinkle

Lynda Van Devanter was the girl next door, the cheerleader who went to Catholic schools, enjoyed sports, and got along well with her four sisters and parents. After high school she attended nursing school and then did something that would shatter her secure world for the rest of her life: in 1969, she joined the army and was shipped to Vietnam. When she arrived in Vietnam her idealistic view of the war vanished quickly. She worked long hours in cramped, ill-equipped, understaffed operating rooms. She saw friends die.

After one traumatic year, she came home, a Vietnam veteran. Coming home was nearly as devastating as the time she spent in Asia. Nothing was the same—including Lynda herself. Viewed by many as a murderer instead of a healer, she felt isolated and angry. The anger turned to depression; like many other Vietnam veterans she suffered from delayed stress syndrome. The war that was fought physically halfway around the world had become a personal, internal battle.

Home Before Morning is the story of a woman whose courage, stamina, and personal history make this a compelling autobiography. It is also the saga of others who went to war to aid the wounded and came back wounded—physically and emotionally—themselves. And, it is the true story of one person's triumphs: her understanding of, and coming to terms with, her destiny.

©1983, 2001 Lynda Van Devanter (P)2023 Tantor

Excellent

Lynda wrote a captivating recount of her time in Vietnam and upon returning home. It was a truthful and vulnerable telling of her experiences. It was page turning and you were rooting for her throughout the book. Highly recommend!

One of the memoirs that Kristin Hannah plagiarized

I listened to Hannah's book (The Women), which I liked a lot and then listened to a couple she mentioned in her acknowledgments as my next two books. I'm surprised nobody sued Hannah. I was pretty shocked at how much was "borrowed" from this memoir and another book--down to the writing style and tone.

I far preferred the memoir. This author did all the hard work in real life and in the writing.

Brutally honest and informative

I loved listening to this book. I have read it twice, but never had the feeling’s surface as when I listened to it. Thank you Linda for your courage and the life you gave to our United States of America. You are wonderful.

The reality and detail takes you there.

The narrator, unfortunately, I found to bland and hard to listen to. Very little emotion in her voice.

Thank you for your service Lynda!

Incredible autobiographical journey! I could feel what she was going through. I have a whole new respect for Vietnam, war, and veterans. I was never taught much at all about Vietnam; it was sort of skipped over in school. I have now been educated.