This Book Is More Than a Decade in the Making

After releasing a novel, Ferrell’s publisher wouldn’t take a second book. She kept working on books and stories, but found that companies would rather publish “a new angle on George Washington than a book on an unknown person.”

During that time, a family member asked her to read a paper she’d written on American military nurses captured by Japan during the second world war. That’s when Ferrell had a light bulb moment. “I couldn’t believe I had never heard of these women,” she told the Spokesman-Review. [[3]]

She took the book to her agent, who loved the idea of writing about women whose names we do not know. “It was like opening a floodgate of incredible.”

The foundation that currently owns the right to Catherine Leroy’s photos allowed Ferrell to use many of the photographer’s images in the book. She hopes that publishing it now teaches young people two specific lessons.

First, it is possible to be “crazy successful” at a very young age, in a short time, when you want something and work hard to get it. Although Leroy had lots of natural talent, she wouldn’t have found success in a male-dominated industry at that time without exhibiting true guts and courage.

And secondly, there needs to be a belief in oneself. Even when everyone else says you don’t have a great idea or that you might fail, those voices don’t matter. What is the voice inside your head telling you to do?

Some of the most significant accomplishments in human history have happened because one person was willing to say that a different way could be better.

Unbiased Journalism Declares the Truth to All Readers

The victors often write history. People who disagree are usually sent to the shadows, events twisted to turn antagonists into protagonists, and outright lies are delivered as truth.

We have seen this happen throughout the past centuries with alarming frequency.

That’s why stories like Catherine Leroy’s are so important to have in our conversations today. This young woman was willing to sacrifice her life to take pictures in Vietnam so that the world could see the truth.

“You can hold that up to someone who gets on a talk show and pontificates, and you can see that there is a very large difference,” said Ferrell. “There’s no comparison in my mind between those two things. I hope this book will help young people get clarity on that.”

Catherine Leroy’s final significant Vietnam photo essay was called “This is That War.” It was published by Look on May 14, 1968. In that issue, the editors changed their policies and decided to denounce the war.

That’s the power of the truth. We cannot forget that facts are not opinions.

Later in life, Leroy founded a vintage clothing store which hosted an online gallery of some of her images from the Vietnam War. She won numerous awards for her work, including being the first woman to earn the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award. [[4]]