The Healers War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
**Overview of "The Healers War"**
"The Healers War" is a compelling narrative that follows the journey of Kitty McCulley, a young U.S. Army nurse from Kansas, as she navigates the complexities and horrors of the Vietnam War. Struggling to adapt to military protocols and the trauma faced by both American soldiers and Vietnamese civilians, Kitty's experience takes a pivotal turn when she is reassigned to a new hospital unit, allowing her to build meaningful connections with her patients. A significant relationship forms with Xe, a respected Vietnamese holy man whose mystical amulet grants Kitty the ability to see the auras of those around her, revealing their physical and emotional states.
As Kitty witnesses the limitations imposed by a racist commanding officer, she becomes motivated to save a young orphan named Ahn, leading to a perilous journey through hostile territory. Alongside Ahn and a troubled American soldier named William, Kitty learns to harness the amulet's healing powers, which ultimately shapes her understanding of compassion in the face of violence. The story delves deeply into themes of trauma, healing, and the stark realities of war, culminating in Kitty's struggle to reintegrate into American life post-war. Ultimately, her path to recovery is found through aiding Vietnamese refugees, highlighting her enduring commitment to healing amidst the scars of her experiences.
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The Healers War
First published: 1988
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—extrasensory powers
Time of work: During the Vietnam War
Locale: Vietnam and the United States
The Plot
Lieutenant Kitty McCulley, a twenty-one-year-old Kansas girl, wants to provide good service as a U.S. Army nurse in Vietnam, but she has difficulty adjusting to military bureaucracy and the horrifying wounds of American soldiers and Vietnamese civilians. When she almost kills a young Vietnamese girl with an accidental overdose of medication, she is reassigned to a new hospital unit. She is much happier there because she has the opportunity to develop relationships with her patients.
Kitty meets a Vietnamese holy man named Xe. At first, she does not particularly care for Xe, but she notices that Vietnamese people and even some American soldiers treat him with great respect. Most Americans, however, including medical personnel, treat Xe like every other patient. When they operate on him, they insist that he remove his amulet. Xe does so only on the condition that Kitty will wear the amulet during his surgery.
The amulet enables Kitty to see peoples auras, but she does not understand what is happening, and she gladly returns the amulet to Xe when he comes back to the ward. Xe tries to help the wounded soldiers but is prevented from doing so by their ignorance and fear. He sinks into despair as Kitty’s respect and compassion for him grows.
Xe dies and bequeaths his amulet to Kitty. A mutual friend explains to her that auras reveal information about the physical and mental well-being of people and that the amulet will help her use that information to heal. Soon afterward, her unit falls under the command of a racist officer who sends all Vietnamese patients to a filthy local hospital, where they certainly will die because of inadequate care and lack of cleanliness.
Kitty worries about the Vietnamese patients she has nursed for months, particularly a crippled orphan named Ahn. At the suggestion of a pilot friend, Kitty tries to save Ahn by flying him to his native village. The helicopter crashes, her pilot friend is killed, and Kitty and Ahn must make their way through a Vietcong jungle, aided only by the amulet. For a while, they travel with William, an American soldier who has become separated from his unit. William, however, has become psychotic; he frequently mistakes them for the enemy and tries to kill them. Fortunately, his aura betrays his intentions and gives Kitty and Ahn a chance to hide during his dangerous periods.
Kitty and Ahn eventually take shelter in a village, where Kitty learns of the amulets power to heal using the power of her (and others) life force. When Kitty is captured by the Vietcong, her amulet-given abilities convince them to spare her life. Her American rescuers” who easily are as brutal as her Vietcong captors—are convinced that she is a traitor; otherwise, they reason, she would be dead.
Kitty narrowly escapes a court-martial. When she returns home, she cannot readjust to American life. The amulet reveals only disappointing auras, her own included, and she no longer can use it to heal. She suffers from the same despair that Xe felt during the last days of his life. After a year of drifting, her postwar trauma is eased when she finds an opportunity to help Vietnamese refugees.