This is Really War: The Incredible True Story of a Navy Nurse POW in WWII

Author Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi will discuss her book about the true and inspiring story of 12 nurses whose heroism saved thousands of lives during WWII. In 1941, twelve U.S. Navy Nurses were taken prisoner of war in the Philippines by the Empire of Japan.  Under the direction of Chief Nurse Laura Cobb, the nurses provided tireless care to thousands of inmates and bravely stood up to guards to protect their patients. 

Speaker bio: Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, PhD is an author, journalist and educator. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and USA Today. She is a regular contributor to Discover magazine.  She is the author of three nonfiction books including "This is Really War: The Incredible True Story of a Navy Nurse POW in the Occupied Philippines" (Chicago Review, 2019). She is also the author of “Ugly Prey: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence that Scandalized Jazz-Age Chicago,” which was recommended by The New York Times. Her most recent book, “A Light in the Dark: Surviving More than Ted Bundy” was co-authored with Kathy Kleiner, who survived Bundy’s attack on the Chi Omega sorority house in 1978.  Emilie holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago. She is a third-generation PhD from UIC.