Lost in the War

American author Nancy Antle’s young adult novel Lost in the War (1998) follows 12-year-old Lisa Grey as her social studies class embarks on a project about the Vietnam War—in which her father was killed and about which her mother, Mary Ann, a military nurse, still has nightmares. With the help of a veteran who comes to speak to Lisa’s class, Lisa comes to understand her mother’s experiences, and Mary Ann begins to heal. Readers aged 11 - 13 “who know little about the Vietnam War and its effects on Americans will find a moving introduction in this sober family drama” (Publishers’ Weekly).

The novel opens on a stormy night in New Haven, Connecticut. Twelve-year-old Lisa is woken by screaming from her mother’s bedroom. She jumps out of bed and runs to wake her mother, whose nightmares have been getting increasingly frequent lately. Lisa knows her mother is dreaming about her father, because she cries his name repeatedly: “Robert, Robert!”

It’s the early 1980s; the Vietnam War is over, and Lisa is too young to remember it, but she thinks about it every day. Her mother and father both served in Vietnam. Her father was killed and her mother, a military nurse who was stationed at Chu Lai for a year, remains traumatized by the things she witnessed there. Above all, she blames herself for not being at her husband’s side when he died.



While Mom is struggling to cope, her nightmares and her increasingly erratic daytime behavior are also affecting Lisa’s schoolwork and the behavior of her younger sister, Jenny, who is beginning to act out. Lisa is relieved when her favorite Aunt Rose arrives to help look after Mom. Aunt Rose can fill Lisa in a little on the things her Mom won’t talk about.

At school, Lisa has the typical problems of a 12-year-old. Her first school dance is coming up and she doesn’t have a date. But she does have a crush—on handsome Joe Hansen, who looks about 18 years old already.

Lisa takes refuge in her schoolwork, which she enjoys. Her favorite class at school is social studies, and she likes her social studies teacher, Mr. Cooke. Nevertheless, when Mr. Cooke announces that the class’s topic for the next month will be the Vietnam War, Lisa can’t contain her anguish. She yells, “That’s not fair.” Mr. Cooke tells her to see him at the end of the class. "Mr. Cooke continued with his talk on Vietnam. I didn't listen.”



After class, Mr. Cooke asks Lisa what her outburst was about. Lisa doesn’t want to explain about her traumatic family history, so she just tells him that she already knows all about the War. She asks to be excused from the class. Mr. Cooke agrees that he will excuse her if she can answer a series of questions about the War. It turns out that she can’t: her knowledge of what actually happened in Vietnam is limited. Mr. Cooke insists that she take the class.

In class, Lisa begins to learn about the War from Mr. Cooke, who both protested the War and avoided the draft. Armed with this new information, Lisa talks to her Mom, who tells her still more about the War. Nevertheless, the process is painful for Lisa, and although her best friends, Josh and Heather, are supportive, they can’t understand what she is going through. Especially painful for Lisa is the class practical project to design a memorial for the veterans of the War.

Things improve when Mr. Cooke invites Matt Parker, a veteran who lost his legs in Vietnam, to address the class. Matt gives a detailed, emotional account of his experiences, and for the first time, Lisa can imagine what her parents went through.



Learning that Lisa’s mother was a nurse at Chu Lai, Matt asks Lisa if he can meet her. Lisa brings him home, where Matt thanks Mary Ann for saving so many lives and bringing comfort to the wounded and dying. At first, Mary Ann struggles to hear these things—she is still overwhelmed with guilt over her husband’s death, but Matt becomes a friend of the family and over time, with patience and understanding, he shows Mary Ann how to forgive herself and appreciate the good she did.

Finally, Lisa’s mom seems to be getting better. She comes into Lisa’s class to talk about her experiences as a nurse. The class is spellbound, and the other students gain a new appreciation for Lisa’s struggles during the term.

Lisa’s life at school also takes a positive turn. At the school dance, Joe Hansen asks her for the slow dance and reveals that he has a crush on her. However, Matt interrupts them; Mary Ann went for a walk in the park a few hours ago and she still isn’t back. Matt and Lisa search the park. They find Mary Ann deep in the woods, where she has fallen and broken her leg.



At the end of the novel, Lisa, Jenny, their mom, Aunt Rose, Matt, and Mr. Cooke visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. together. They find Lisa’s dad’s name on the wall, and Lisa leaves the memorial she has made in class. The family has finally begun their healing process.