Wounded Healer by Donna Fleisher

Christina McIntyre and Erin Grayson were soldiers during Desert Storm. Part of a medical unit, they saw little action during the short war.
Move forward five years. Each woman has her own life. Erin is married to a doctor. Erin and her husband are part of a Christian ministry outreach in Oregon. Some of the others involved are people from Erin's military days.
Chris lives in a secluded cabin in the snowy mountains of Colorado, part of the San Juan District Three Search and Rescue. When she is attacked by an escaped convict, Chris finally manages to kill him, but not before the convict murders the coworker come to rescue her. The man she thought she could love.
When Eric hears of Chris' experience she decides to go to her. They did not part five years ago on the best of terms but she knows Chris needs her.
Fleisher continues the story of Chris and Erin, a troubled reunion. Interspersed with the current story are flashbacks to their Desert Storm experiences. Chris has had a troubled past and Erin knows only the Lord can deliver her from her inner pain.

I was a bit disappointed in this novel. I was expecting more military experience, as the cover indicated. I also got tired of Chris blowing up and Erin soothing her. Erin's concern with Chris, these five years later, borders on obsession. Even Erin' husband does not understand the relationship and is sorely tested.

The love/hate relationship between Erin and Chris is by far the main theme of the novel. The pain Chris experiences did not come from her military duty but from childhood. The war experience seemed to have little to do with the novel other than to provide a scene for the two women to meet. To me, that is a poor excuse for a novel this is supposed to honor military heroes.
Fleisher lacks writing creativity. When I read that some one's “heart slammed to a stop,” for the third time, I lost appreciation for Fleisher's writing style. (Pages 166, 253, and 287. Erin's heart supposedly stopped twice while Chris' once. Fleisher used this phrase for emphasis only – no 911 calls to rescue the woman with the supposed stopped heart!)
While I wasn't all that impressed with this novel, the gospel is very clearly presented.
There is no reading group guide nor questions for discussion included in the book.

Zondervan, 293 pages.