"I'M STILL STANDING" Shoshana Johnson

     Remember the "other" female soldier that was taken captive by the Iraqis at the beginning of the 2nd invasion of Iraq?  I always wondered what happened to her when she was rescued and came home.  How did she adjust after being in captivity and then returning home to live her normal life?
     She tells her story simply and succinctly. Technically, the writing done by M.L.Doyle is a little boring.  I think a better writer could have made this a more compelling story.
     Shoshana legs were seriously damaged and she could not walk at times. She and some of the other injured prisoners received surgery from an Iraqi doctor.  She says the concern for her health
 was evident from the beginning and though she did not receive special favor, she was never manhandled or physically assaulted.  She received many visits from concerned doctors throughout her stay in various prisons.
Many times she describes her terrible fears of dying, especially when bombs were falling around the prison.  A rescue seemed very unlikely.  Her comfort came from hearing the other soldiers and knowing that they were not being tortured.  Though they were not supposed to talk, she could hear them at times and it lifted her spirits.  She and the others were moved by van many times to different locations.  The final move was to the house where they were rescued.
     Her treatment at the hands of the U.S. military was despicable.  The 160 vehicles at the end of the 600 vehicle column became lost due to poor communications (radios didn't work) and the absence of anyone going back to see what was wrong.  The heavy vehicles sand in the sand (didn't we learn from the first war)?  guns that would not fire, and incompetence at many levels of command. Men and women died because of the stupidity of the leaders (my words).  She had to fight to get her disability when she could not return to her job as a cook.  Fortunately she comes from a military family, father, aunt, sister and others so she had some help in dealing with the problems. 
     She was treated as a celebrity by the media and the army sent her on promotional events and TV shows.  She was "wined and dined" but could never adjust to the ideas that she was someone special. She kept looking to her collegeagues who were injured and died in that encounter and the strain began to show.   At one point she checked herself into a hospital to deal with the PTSD that affects so many returning soldiers.
     I'm glad I read her story and to know that she will be ok.  Her large and loving family are all around her and she gains her strength from them and from God.