Blog Tour: Coppola - A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq by Dr. Chris Coppola - Review, Interview & Book Giveaway!

Title:  Coppola:  A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq

Author:  Dr. Chris Coppola
Advanced Readers Copy Soft Cover
Publisher:  NTI Upstream
Note:  I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and participation in a virtual book tour. 

Visit other blogs on the virtual book tour!

Book Description:

Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq is the fierce, true-life account of Dr. Chris Coppola’s two deployments in Operation Iraqi Freedom as an Air Force pediatric surgeon. Twice stationed at Balad Air Base, fifty miles north of Baghdad, in what was first a rude M*A*S*H*-style tent hospital and later became one of the largest U.S. military installations on foreign soil, Dr. Coppola works feverishly to save the lives of soldiers and civilians as word spreads among Iraqi families that, no matter what the infirmity, he can save their children.

Interview with Author, Dr. Chris Coppola:

1. As Lt. Col. and a doctor, it must have been difficult at times to reconcile the military side of your mission with that of a doctor in a foreign, war-torn nation. How did you do it?

As a doctor and an officer in the Air Force, I was a dual-professional while I was deployed to Iraq. Each has its own code and obligations. As a doctor, the entire idea of war was anathema to me and it was very hard to see how any good could come of it. In my book, Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq, I describe a day when these two professions came into conflict. I was caring for a child who had been burned over most of her body, and we were performing an operation to graft healthy skin over her burned skin. Just after I had harvested the skin from her body, we received notice that there had been a mass casualty and numerous injured were headed to the hospital. My commander came in and told me to end the operation immediately and make way for new wounded. I didn’t have the heart to throw away the skin, so I kept on operating, worked as fast as my team and I could, and we got that skin on. Fortunately, we had a commander who understood this decision was just a sign of my commitment to children.

2. What did your fellow surgeons think of the work you were doing with children? In the book, you mention that the U.S. surgeons made a tongue-and-cheek sign renaming the hospital: “The Coppola Foundation for the Betterment of Iraqi Children.”  Tell us about that.

The response to the children I had brought to the hospital was mixed. Some of the staff saw their own children, siblings or cousins in the faces of the Iraqi children who came to us needing treatment. Taking care of them was a small way to ease the pain and worry of missing children back home. Others had objections to being involved in the care of pediatric patients. For some, it was fear and nervousness that they might do something wrong because they were not used to treating young patients. Others felt that the main purpose of the hospital to treat combat injured troops didn’t leave room to open the doors to kids. Over time, those accustomed to treating children helped train the others, and even those resistant to the concept began to realize that treating injured and ill children was a sorely needed service, greatly appreciated by the Iraqi people. Whether they agreed with it or not, my colleagues quickly learned that I was focused on care of children, and they alternated between good-natured teasing, and coming to me first when a child came to the hospital in need of surgery.

3. Could you describe how you coped while far away from home? Did you have a support system to help while overseas?

Both times I was deployed to Iraq it was very difficult for me to be so far from my wife and children. However, work often kept me so busy I didn’t have time to think. Other nights, when the hospital was quiet and there were no operations, I would lie in my hooch unable to sleep. These were the times I would write. It was so hard to get the images of mangled bodies and shattered children out of my head, but somehow writing my experiences down let me settle them so I could move on. Fortunately, I had the support of friends and family back home through email and morale calls. And there was no way I could have gotten through deployment without leaning on my colleagues in the hospital.

4. How did you go about converting your letters into a memoir? Did you find this was a difficult transition? Did you ever feel like you remembered the experience differently when you went back to rewrite the letters home?

I originally wrote my letters as a way of letting people back home have a small glimpse of life on a military base in Iraq. I sent them to friends and family, they sent the letters on to other readers, and soon I had an audience of over a hundred readers. If I went too long without emailing home, I would get concerned inquiries checking to see if something had happened to me. After returning home, I suddenly felt like I was no longer doing anything to help the troops, like I had been doing day after day in the combat support hospital. Several friends suggested that I turn my letters into a book. I decided that releasing my story would be a way to share the heroism and bravery of both troops and Iraqi civilians I had met. It would also be a way I could try to raise funds to support injured troops families through Fisher House.

It was a challenge to convert my letters into a narrative that spanned two deployments, because it was difficult to revisit some of the memories of my tours. As I retold and combined the stories of individuals who had lived or died in moments of intense struggle and tragedy, I felt like I was going through it all over again. The memories hadn’t changed, but I found that I had tucked them away into a hidden place in my mind. If anything, the experience of coalescing the story into a memoir has made me understand much better what we all went through over there.

My Thoughts:

This medical memoir tells the true-life tale of Dr. Chris Coppola's two tours in Balad, Iraq as a pediatric surgeon.  This book offers a very unique perspective of the war, coming from the medical staff who dealt with the aftermath of the bombings and shootings in Iraq.  This book will really open your eyes to what happens there on an almost daily basis.  It is heartbreaking.

The book is broken into three parts.  A good chunk of it details Dr. Coppola's first tour in Balad starting in January 2005 and ending in May 2005.  He recounts numerous surgeries that he performed on American soldiers, Iraqi soldiers and policemen, terrorists, and civilians, including innocent children.  There are some pretty graphic explanations of the surgeries.  The medical jargon is explained fairly well, so I wasn't too confused by the narrative during these sections. 

As a pediatric surgeon, Dr. Coppola was called into the hospital whenever a child came in.  He became known in Iraq as a healer of children and many families would seek him out to care for their child.  The cover of the book illustrates this point.  A woman heard of Dr. Coppola and, without knowing any English, came to the hospital with just his name on a scrap piece of paper, seeking his help.  There were many times, however, that children had to be turned away since they were not directly injured as a result of the war.   

It was difficult to read about his experiences with various children throughout his deployment.  I honestly don't know how he did it.  It was emotional to read some of the stories, especially that of Leila.  You can feel his pain and angst as he related her story.  You want to help these children in every way that you can.

One thing I found especially interesting are all of the recreational activities that are available on base.  I had no idea that these types of things would be available to the military (movie theater, gym, swimming pool).  It definitely gives me a new perspective in that regard.

The second part of the book details Dr. Coppola's return to "normal" life back home after his first deployment.  Playing with his kids, puttering around his house, spending time with his wife.  Things that he missed out on while he was deployed.

Finally, the third part of the book relates Dr. Coppola's experiences during his second deployment, from September 2007 through January 2008.  He comes into Balad to a new hospital facility that is much improved over his first "tent" facility during the first tour.  He details many more stories of people he encountered and surgeries he performed during this time.

This is an amazing book that I highly recommend.  It was an emotional read that really opened my eyes to what is actually happened on the other side of the world.  Many of the Iraqi people that Dr. Coppola encountered are just like us - they love their children and family fiercely and are appreciative to anyone who can help them.  This is definitely a must-read.

 
Purchase the Book:
 
Throughout November, Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq and NTI Upstream publishing will be donating 10% of all book sales on http://www.coppolathebook.com/ to our not-for-profit partner War Child. War Child is a registered charity dedicated to providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to war-affected children around the world. War Child helps generate awareness, support and advocacy for children's rights everywhere. (www.warchild.us). Each month a new not-for-profit organization will be supported. Please visit www.coppolathebook.com for more information.

The 10% donation will help support non-profit organizations as they continue to provide funding and services throughout the world. Each organization is chosen to exemplify the book’s themes of global healthcare, child humanitarian assistance, and troop welfare.

Giveaway:

NTI Upstream has graciously offered to giveaway one copy of Dr. Coppola's book to a lucky reader of my blog!  You MUST be a follower of my blog to enter (just click on Follow through Google Friend Connect in the sidebar). 

Here's how to get your entry (USA residents only!):

1. Follow my Blog through Google Connect (see sidebar)
2. Fill out the FORM --

• NOTE: ONLY YOUR NAME AND E-MAIL ADDRESS ARE REQUIRED ON THE FORM! YOU MAY DISREGARD THE REST OF THE FORM, IF YOU LIKE!

That's it!  Good Luck!

Contest will end on November 30, 2009!