Stella Bain by Anita Shreve, read by Hope Davis
This novel follows a woman from the time she awakes in a field hospital in northern France in early 1916. She was found wearing a British nurse's aide uniform, but has an American accent. She has no personal memory and has difficulty coming up with a name for herself, but feels that Stella Bain is right. She does know that she can drive an ambulance, and as she recovers, she is put to use as both nurse's aide and ambulance driver. When someone mentions the admiralty it strikes a chord with her and she is driven by the certainty that somehow the admiralty holds the key to recovering her memory. As she makes her way to London, she loses her way and is found by a woman in a residential square in London. The woman, Lily, takes her in and Lily and her husband Dr. August Bridge, nurse her through illness and the doctor, once learning of her plight, is fascinated and does everything he can to help her recover her memory.
In the second part of this novel, Stella has recovered her memory and her identity and knows the reason she came to France and the reason she must return home to America. As she fights to regain her family, and find a new life for herself, she is also drawn back to England and those she cares for there.
With themes of love, memory, loss, and forgiveness, this novel has a strong protagonist with a unique story that resonates.
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