Preemptive Love - pursuing peace One Heart at a time by Jeremy Courtney

Genre: Memoir

Pages: Hard Cover

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Release Date: October 1^st, 2013

Reviewer: Virginia Armstrong

JAGS: 8

 

Preemptive Love is a memoir of Jeremy Courtney’s struggle to help thousands of children with heart conditions during the Iraqi war.  Believing in love first, ask questions later, he puts his life and his heart on the line as he goes against other’s fears, prejudices and political persuasions.  In his quest, he finds that most people, no matter their race or religion are good, loving people who only want what is best for their families.

Jeremy doesn’t run at the first sign of trouble, not even when a fatwa is issued for him.  Instead, he continues onward, fighting or the children’s lives, pleasantly satisfied when the results are in the child’s favor, heartbroken when they are not.

Jeremy tells not only his story of courage and sacrifice, but that of his wife, children and friends he meets along the way.

Preemptive Love is a story that enlightens the reader to the many similarities in people’s lives, reminding us that we are all built with the same emotions, living similar life’s but with different beliefs and practices.

Preemptive Love opens the reader’s eyes to the damage that war does not only physically, but emotionally as well. 

The story is well written, yet Jeremy seemed to distance himself from his writing as if reluctant to give his entire heart.  This prevents the reader from feeling what he felt during and fully understanding the depth and need of these small children.

Preemptive Love is a must read as a wake-up call to the tragedies of war and the impact it has on the lives it touches.

“We received a free copy of this book from Howard Books, for our honest review. The opinions expressed here are our own.” –The Jag Review