During the last 6.5 years of the existence of the original Walter Reed Army Medical center the reader becomes almost immersed into the life of a young physical therapist who wanted to be a journalist but spends hours of pushing recent amputees to gain the strength and skill to manage their newly shaped bodies. The events overshadow the horror of what the administrations - late Bush and early Obama have exposed these men and women to and the shortsightedness of government - and other - budget cutters. The book is well written and keeps the subject changing often enough for interest while maintaining continuity. ( )

Very funny, sometimes dark, view of what it was like working at one of the most famous military hospitals in the world. ( )

3.5 stars.

Fascinating subject, but the chapters seems disjointed at times. It's crazy how she floated around in life before landing in physical therapy school, and then just sort of fell into the job at Walter Reed.

I also am SO CURIOUS about the things she wasn't allowed to publish. ( )

4.5*

It's not like I have run out of books to read, and yet, I keep picking this one up again and again re-reading parts.

Run, Don't Walk is the story of Adele Levine's (the author's) time as a physical therapist working with soldiers who had been wounded in combat, mostly Afghanistan, and needed to learn how to use their body again.

When I first picked up the book, I expected that this would be a hard read - and some of the stories are - but far from being a collection of stories of sadness and despair, there was a lot more to the book that I really enjoyed:

For one, I liked the detail in which Levine explained injuries, and more importantly, how they affected the persons day-to-day routine and how the physical therapists tried to come up with different ways to treat each person to maximise recovery.

I liked that it seemed an honest book about the successes and failures, and how it affected the patients but also the staff. Levine touches on, but doesn't dwell on, what hard work it must be for the medical staff to be exposed to so many injuries, not just physical but also mental, and how some of the medical staff were probably experiencing something like PTSD in their own right while trying to helps some of their patients convalesce.

What I liked most about it, though, is how Levine tells the stories - some with a sense of fun, some with a lot of empathy, but most of them with a lot of passion about the people around her. ( )

I enjoyed reading about the therapy clinic and its happenings, patients and technicians. Inspires me to find a way to help people that I can. Adele and her coworkers are so committed to each other and most importantly to their patients--their dedication is phenomenal! I Liked the writing style, it did not read like a novel, which reminded me that this was real life, and Adele could have been just telling the story to someone. And it's good to know the spirit of Walter Reed lives on! ( )