Lipstick and a Smile

by Helen White

Seems like yesterday I'm a young US Army Nurse. I spend March, 1969-March, 1970 as an orthopedic nurse in the Qui Nhon 67th Evacuation Hospital. Combat ptsd influences my very existence. Combining... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0974719706
• ISBN13: 9780974719702
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Bell Books
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Lipstick And A Smile by Helen White

This little book packs a big punch. Helen White has opened her wounds to share not only the memories of her injuries and the recognition of their lethal potential, but also the healing process. A nationally known artist, White has taken some of her best known works and relived in words what the art expresses so well in color and form. Not a self-serving introversion; the book tells her story in order to bring attention to the hundreds of other Nam nurses who left a lot of themselves in Nam, and brought too much of Nam home with them. More a call to overcome than a retrospection, the author looks forward more than simply recounting the past. The book is dedicated "to the will to survive -- and thrive"and that is its emphasis. Anyone who has been in Nam, or any other hell on earth, will recognize the pain in the art and find strength and hope in the narrative. A must read for anyone who hurts -- and keeps pushing forward to their own healing.

Haunting And Chilling PTSD Art & Prose

The personal experiences of an Army nurse during the Vietnam War still haunt the author/artist Helen White which she shares in a compelling and moving book called "Lipstick And A Smile: One Nam Nurse Story". Is it prose, poetry or the ramblings of old war memories from a PTSD traumatized nurse? This book will grab you by the heartstrings. It will certainly cause you to think, feel, reflect and maybe even be moved to cry. I was wet-eyed and I am an old combat veteran myself. This book is not for emotional sissies! The artwork is equal to the prose and the eyes of those people in the pictures will burn through your soul. The book's genre is hard to classify as either poetry and art or as a memoir with illustrations. In either case, it matters not, the emotional and spiritual impact will be the same. There is both tenderness and sadness mixed in with courage and outright fear and worry. This book will move you and will certainly open your eyes and heart to what it was like for the women nurses who served so well during the Vietnam War. The book belongs in your personal library of military books. It will help serve to remind us that war is not just some game for young warriors. What we become aware of is that the war will still rage on within those who were there long after the last bullets have been fired. For some that battle continues for decades. PTSD is real and it is no less lethal than a bullet to the brain. Helen White delivers that emotional message with words and her very visually moving art. I personally recommend this book for anyone with PTSD or who has someone in his or her family who is suffering from the effects of war. It might just give you some new insights to what is going on within. Hopefully, it will compell those who need help to seek out some support for their own PTSD issues. A FIVE STAR BOOK!!!! BUY IT AND READ IT!!!!!

Forgotten Female Heros

One of the best things I get to do as President of the Military Writers Society of America is to recognize an individual each month who has served our country in times of conflict. The Society is open to all writers/artist who have served or are serving in the military. We receive about 500-600 books each year for review. Awards are given out annually. I have started three new programs since my appointment as President at the beginning of this year. One of these programs is the recognition of an individual member who I feel has contributed to our county both in their military service and later in their personal life. The first person to be awarded this monthly honor in is Helen White. Helen was a nurse in Vietnam in 1969 -70. Like most of us, she was 21 years old. I have her book in front of me, "Lipstick and a Smile". It's a collection of her paintings. The page opposite each work describes the feeling the painting represents. Her innocence, anger, frustration and the horror of what she witnessed is captured by this combination. Helen is one of the forgoten heros of the Vietnam War. Tony Lazzarini President Military Writers Society of America