In 1994, Lois Lindstrom, an American, moved to Stockholm.  There she befriended Karin Wiking, then in her early 70’s, and from their regular conversations grew this very personal book about Mrs. Wiking’s life and experiences. 

Like so many others during and right after World War II, Wiking ably served her country and the dispossessed of several others.  As is the case with nearly every war memoir, her stories are both gripping and moving.  A capable woman of great charm and resources, Karin Wiking became acquainted with several great Swedish figures from the period, including Count Folke Bernadotte (assassinated while working as the U.N. mediator in Palestine in 1948); physician Axel Munthe, author of The Story of San Michele; and Jüssi Bjoerling, the operatic tenor.  She was also acquainted with Mother Teresa, whose order Wiking has supported through prayer groups and letter-writing for 25 years.  

Karin Wiking’s life has been interesting and, at times, tragic, but what comes across most compellingly in this interview is her great sense of purpose and faith.

 

[Memoirs of a Swedish War Nurse: A Life of Adventure, A Journey of Spirituality, by Karin Wiking, as interviewed by Lois Lindstrom (Waldoboro, Maine: Goose River Press) 144 pp., $16.00]