Run, Don't Walk: The Curious and Chaotic Life of a Physical Therapist Inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center
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