Life & Death, Truth & Lies

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson is a powerful dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start. It is a medical psychological tale dealing with life and death; truth and lies.

The novel is set in 1999 and present day. It is written through three alternating points of view as well as alternating time periods. It is a read that has you on the edge of your seat as we watch the action unfold.

We witness three friends who are bound by one terrible secret. Lies are maintained until the day when the present threatens to repeat the past. Gradually, lies and lives unravel.

The three lead characters are medical students for a variety of different reasons. One student wants to please her parents, but they love her unconditionally, saying, “Your character is not based on what you do, it is who you are.” This gives her freedom to finally be herself.

Another, wishes to help people, following her father’s early death. “Losing her dad had taught her that taking care of a sick relative is not a burden. It’s a privilege.” Her heart is in the right place but her actions do not always line up. In order to protect the innocent, she enters a grey area.

We hear about the importance of faith. “Church gives you roots… So when life blows you too hard, you don’t fall over.” When life is hard, we need to have somewhere to go to.

There are various relationships within the novel but the strongest is a mother’s bond. “She had always assumed the love of her life would be a romantic partner… But when [he] was born and she held him and studied his face… She had never known love like that. Total unconditional, magical love.” This is a love that will last, and one that sees a character will do anything in order to protect her son.

Moral Injuries was a medical thriller that entertains from the start. The reader must separate the truth from the lies.

JULIA WILSON