HEROINE

Mary Jane Wells wrote and performed this play, now an audiobook, based on the life of Danna Davis, U.S. soldier, veteran, and survivor of military sexual trauma during the Iraq War. It’s a difficult story of a lesbian before “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Wells vocally becomes this ten-year veteran with vibrant and graphic, disturbing accounts of battles and other military experiences, PTSD, and bouts of grief interspersed with healing. Wells’s voice, with its British accent, is primary, and it is backed up by a small cast, sound effects, and music that heightens the tension and the aural experience. This powerful performance by Mary Jane Wells will shock and move listeners as it informs about the aftereffects of military service and its attendant traumas, not only for LGBTQ+ veterans, but also for all those who serve. M.B.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2021]