Readers are loving Vermont author IM Aiken’s The Little Ambulance War of Winchester County: A Trowbridge Vermont Novel (Flare Books, 2024), recently published by Catalyst Press. The novel follows an EMS worker’s career through a 40 year arc starting in Cambridge Massachusetts and closing in the fictional town of Trowbridge in southern Vermont. While trying to follow the footfalls of others Alex Flynn gradually comes to question who is the hero in their own story. Overt themes of the book include: death, PTSD, public safety, government funding, and emergency medicine. Understated themes include both gender and sexuality.
Aiken has worked on and off of ambulances since the 1980s, first in Boston and then in rural Vermont, where she now lives. According to the Vermont Department of Health, Vermont has some “170 ambulance and first responder agencies, 3,000 licensed emergency medical service (EMS) practitioners and over 400 providers certified as Vermont Emergency First Responders.” Vermont first responders and rescue workers are called upon to manage emergencies of all sorts, from welfare checks to fires to fights to car crashes, from substance abuse and domestic issues to rescuing skiers and flood victims.
Through the voice of ambulance driver and rescue worker Alex Flynn, the novel’s main character, this gritty, darkly funny novel brings to light the red tape and the difficult choices such workers face every day as they attempt to save lives, protect the community, and preserve the dignity of the humans they serve. Aiken gives readers front-row access to the world of EMS and other first responders—and the sweat, steam, and that accompanies long days and nights caring for others at their most vulnerable.
Following in the footsteps of their beloved Boston cop father, Alex Flynn trains as an EMT, and spends years chasing emergencies in an ambulance. But the person Alex becomes is a far cry from the hero they signed up to be. Over four decades in public safety, Alex encounters a changing America, where veterans are left to rot on streets, women are welcome in dangerous fields but abusers still walk free, and service providers are subjected to intense public scrutiny while being denied the resources they need.
After moving from bustling Boston to small town Vermont, Alex discovers an escalating feud between emergency operators and must decide which to protect: their community, or their legacy. The novel is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite bookstore. To fully experience the novel, check out the audiobook read by the author.
Praise for Little Ambulance War
“The Little Ambulance War of Winchester County opens readers’ eyes to the human beings and too-often troubled systems we rely on to rescue us. An important and unforgettable saga of the people who race toward danger to save strangers like you.” – James Grady, author of Six Days of the Condor
“This is literally one of the finest, most accurate EMS books I’ve read. Not only is it accurate to my 20 year as a paramedic in both rural and urban settings, the author nails the small town politics. It is a rare combination to find someone who understands both EMS, small town politics, living in the shadow of a first responder dad, and can actually write. The characters are true to life and the dialogue fresh; sometimes I thought I might be reading my own story. Will recommend this book over and over.” – Sara Moore Gruver, EMT
Our group debated issues surrounding social and community services, particularly access to healthcare and emergency services. We delved into the systemic inequities and fraud that plague these systems and the tension between government-provided services and privatized ones—an issue many communities across the country are currently grappling with. For most of us, the ‘ambulance wars’ were a new, eye-opening concept, and this book heightened our awareness of the complexities involved.” —The Book Club Cookbook
Read the story on VTDigger here: Debut novel by Vermonter doles out kudos to Vermont emergency services workers and volunteers.