Carol Acton & Jane Potter 
Working in a world of hurt 
Trauma and resilience in the narratives of medical personnel in warzones

Working in a world of hurt fills a significant gap in the studies of the psychological trauma wrought by war. It focuses not on soldiers, but on the men and women who fought to save them in casualty clearing stations, hospitals and prison camps. The writings by doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and other medical personnel reveal the spectrum of their responses that range from breakdown to resilience. Through a rich analysis of both published and unpublished personal from the First World War in the early twentieth century to Iraq in the early twenty-first, Acton and Potter put centre stage the letters, diaries, memoirs and weblogs that have chronicled physical and emotional suffering, many for the first time. Wide-ranging in scope, interdisciplinary in method, and written in a scholarly yet accessible style, Working in a world of hurt is essential reading for lecturers and students as well as the general reader.

Table of Content

Introduction
1. ‘These frightful sights would work havoc with one’s brain’: First World War writings by medical personnel
2. ‘Over There’: American confidence and the narrative of resilience in the Great War
3. ‘You damn well just got on with your job’: medical personnel and the invasion of Europe in the Second World War
4. ‘It was a tough life and I did all I could to lighten the men’s burden’: British P.O.W. medics’ memoirs of the Second World War
5. Claiming trauma: Women in the Vietnam War
6. Crying silently: doctors and medics in the Vietnam War
7. Fatal Injury
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

About the author

Penny Summerfield is Professor of Modern History at the University of Manchester

Penny Summerfield is Professor of Women’s History at Manchester University