Irritable hearts

I like and respect Mac McClelland as a journalist; I remember when she wrote her first article about developing PTSD after reporting in Haiti (which is partly incoporated into this memoir) and got so much nasty backlash from people who somehow didn't feel that she'd “earned” PTSD or something? UGH.

I loved her honesty about her trauma and all the ways she worked through it, as well as her information about other PTSD patients (interviews and outreach with veterans, spouses of veterans, etc). And the titular “love story” is pretty sweet and kind of bonkers.

I'd recommend it to fans of narrative nonfiction, especially if you're interested in learning more about PTSD/trauma/etc.