Sunray: The Death and Life of Captain Nichola Goddard [Hardcover]

On May 17, 2006, at approximately ­7 p.m.­ Afghanistan time, Forward Observation Officer Captain Nichola Goddard earned a tragic place in Canadian history: she became the first female Canadian soldier to die in combat. Although the media was predictably preoccupied with the death of a female soldier, Sunray takes a step back to profile the life of a woman who consistently defied the societally imposed constraints of her sex.

Eschewing tragic, one-note platitudes, the book honours a fearless young woman who grew into a resilient warrior. Regardless of a reader’s attitude toward the war in Afghanistan, this book provides a heartbreaking story of a hero who believed in her own convictions above the artificial limitations of her sex. Born to left-wing pacifists, Nichola was an unlikely soldier. However, she maintained a fierce loyalty to her own decision to pursue a military career, and remained courageous every step of the way.

From Sunray’s first pages it is evident that journalist Valerie Fortney is a skilled writer endeavouring to tell not a military story, but a human one. The book’s richly detailed narrative is culled from family archives and extensive interviews, and Fortney paints a vivid picture of Nichola’s unique, well-­travelled upbringing. No detail is spared: Fortney even journeys with the Goddard family to Papua New Guinea, where Nichola spent her early life, to interview the tribespeople who knew her as a girl. Nichola’s own correspondence is also incorporated into the book, further humanizing her and forestalling a pacifist reader’s impulse to pass judgment on her decision to enter military life.

The detail and research Fortney marshals renders the story universal, and reveals the difficult compromises that military life demands. This is not a book only for military enthusiasts or history buffs; it will reward any reader interested in the drama of a brave, inspiring life.

I am sorry that the job that I do takes me away from you. I am sorrier still that sometimes I do stupid things and maybe put myself at risk. More, I wonder at the guys who follow my direction. I wonder about their families. I worry that I will hurt them, or cause my guys to be hurt?. Thank you for believing in me, my love?. I don’t think that I could do this without that. Especially when things are hard and the decisions are unpopular. Especially when it is scary. ?May 7, 2006

A week after she wrote these words to her husband, twenty-six-year-old Captain Nichola Goddard became the sixteenth Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan. She also earned herself a spot in the history books: the first female Canadian soldier to die in combat.

Goddard, say her friends and family, would have hated being singled out for her gender: she was as strong, as capable and as brave as any male in uniform. She was not just a soldier on equal footing with her fellow troops; she was a leader?a “sunray,“ in military parlance?in one of the most dangerous positions in the armed forces, a Forward Observation Officer with the artillery unit.

In Sunray: The Death and Life of Captain Nichola Goddard, award-winning journalist Valerie Fortney examines how a woman raised by self-described “left-wing hippies” came to find herself fighting?and dying?in Afghanistan. Based on in-depth interviews with Goddard’s family, friends, and colleagues, as well as exclusive access to never-before-seen letters, Sunray tells the story of a remarkable 21^st-century soldier. It is an intriguing, heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring look at the decision to serve, and at the costs.

Reviews:

“This important biography introduces the remarkable young woman who was a devoted soldier, wife, daughter and friend.... This book is required reading for anyone who questions the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, and not because it provides answers to that question.... Perhaps even more important, it is a fitting tribute to not only Goddard but also to Trooper Karine Blais, the second female Canadian soldier to die, and to the 150 Canadian men lost to the Afghan War as well.” - Winnipeg Free Press

“On May 17, 2006, Nichola Goddard became the first Canadian woman to die in combat. She’s more than just a statistic, however, and Sunray meticulously pieces together her biography-from her gobe-trotting childhood to her tour in Afghanistan- resulting in a thoughtful portrait of a truly modern soldier.” - Chatelaine

“The detail and research Fortney marshals renders the story universal, and reveals the difficult compromises that military life demands. This is not a book only for military enthusiasts or history buffs; it will reward any reader interested in the drama of a brave, inspiring life.” - Quill & Quire