This new novel by award-winning author Luis Alberto Urrea tells an overlooked story of women’s heroism in World War II, inspired by the experiences of his own mother.

When Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé to enlist with the Red Cross in 1943, she joins an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle. She forges a friendship with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit, and falls in love with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans. Urrea’s “heart-wrenching wartime drama” follows Irene as she re-learns how to trust, all while hoping that she and those she loves survive the war intact.

Luis Alberto Urrea speaks at NYPL about his “moving and graceful tribute to heroic women” that asks whether a friendship forged on the front lines of war defines a life forever.

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