praise for
A LINE IN THE SAND

“With A Line in the Sand, Ray Wiss has given us a moving and personal account of his second tour of duty as a doctor with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan. Frank and thoughtful, the book brings into sharp focus the day-to-day doings of the interesting array of characters among whom he finds himself. We get a feel for the strange stresses of war . . . the pain and uncertainty, as well as the humour and camaraderie that make the awful reality bearable. The lines in the sand are clearly drawn with humanity and grace. This is a book for anyone who cares about the human face of mankind’s oldest activity. Highly recommended reading!”
BRUCE COCKBURN, OC, singer/songwriter

“Volunteer paramedic with the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Canadian infantry platoon commander, emergency-department director and combat doctor, Ray Wiss has never compromised in his brave and distinctly Canadian idealism. Now as a battle diarist, Wiss is every bit as uncompromising in his devotion to the unadorned truth about life and death in the merciless heat and amid the bombs and bloodshed of the Afghan front. This is a gripping, heartbreaking and inspiring book. It’s about ordinary Afghans and ordinary Canadian soldiers whose humbling, everyday bravery will take your breath away. The Afghanistan you will encounter in A Line in the Sand is not the country you’ve read much about in your newspapers. The Afghanistan in the pages of this book is the one that matters. It is about the cause that matters, and why so many young Canadians have died fighting for it.”
TERRY GLAVIN, award-winning journalist and author

“A doctor with an infantry background, Captain Ray Wiss gives us a unique insight into the lives and sacrifices of Canadian soldiers ‘outside the wire’ in Afghanistan. Read on and be proud to be Canadian.”
MAJOR-GENERAL (RET’D) LEWIS MACKENZIE, CM, OOnt, MSC and Bar, CD

“Captain Wiss captures the soldiers’ view on the ground and in the thick of it. Just as they did on the muddy battlefields of Europe in the First and Second World Wars, the steep hills of Korea and numerous peacekeeping missions around the globe, Canadians distinguish themselves today on the dusty roads of Afghanistan. Words like valour, commitment and sacrifice are just as apt today when describing the current generation of Canadian heroes. Thankfully our nation has awakened to this reality, and within these pages you find the stirring stories to keep their memory alive.”
THE HONOURABLE PETER MACKAY, Minister of National Defence