Mission Afghanistan

Elie Paul Cohen, a Franco-British civilian emergency doctor, was in his youth an anti-militarist who evaded conscription. But decades later, his military record comes back to haunt him when it turns up in his professional dossier. In a surreal coincidence, the French, British, and Israeli secret services suddenly become interested in recruiting him, and Cohen accepts the deal the French Army offers: he can settle his accounts by serving as a liaison emergency doctor in Afghanistan.

After a year and a half of training, Cohen is in 2011 deployed at Camp Bastion, the largest British Military base since World War II. His mission is twofold: First, to study Damage Control Resuscitation, a new treatment for polytraumatized soldiers that was developed by British doctors in Afghanistan. Second, to share these advanced protocols with the French Military Health Service.

Combining elements of spy thriller and adventure story with reflections on the costs of war, Cohen’s memoir offers a unique perspective on the conflict in Afghanistan, and on the medical challenges presented by the expansion of terrorism into Europe and America.

Author Biography

Dr. Elie Paul Cohen was recruited in 2009 by the French Army and deployed in 2011 at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, where he worked with the British and studied their new treatment for polytraumatized soldiers. Mission Afghanistan is a memoir of his experience. The original French edition was nominated for the Erwan Bergot Prize, given in recognition of works celebrating service to France and its values. A Franco-British citizen, Cohen now works as an emergency doctor in the emergency services of Paris. He has a special interest in integrative medicine and works as an osteopath in private practice. He is also a composer of experimental music. His album Le Cinquième elément was released by Radio France in 2018. You can visit him at www.eliepaulcohen.com. Jessica Levine has translated several books from French and Italian into English. She is also the author of two novels published by She Writes Press, Nothing Forgotten and The Geometry of Love, a Booklist Top 10 Women’s Fiction Title for 2015. Her other works include Delicate Pursuit: Discretion in Henry James and Edith Wharton, as well as essays, short stories, and poetry. Levine holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was a Mellon Fellow. She was born in New York City and now lives in Northern California. You can find her at www.jessicalevine.com.