AnnaMaria Cardinalli has had an unusually varied career in both the performing arts and service to her country. A classical/flamenco guitarist and operatic singer, she became an international recording artist while still a teenager. A car accident having set back her musical career, she was accepted into the doctoral program in Theology at Notre Dame, and at age 24 became the youngest person awarded a Ph.D. from the university. After September 11, 2001, she responded to a call from the FBI for individuals with advanced degrees and cultural/religious expertise, which led to service in Iraq under the auspices of Joint Special Forces Command. In 2009 she became a member of the U.S. Army's first Human Terrain Team in Afghanistan, a unit designed to seek cultural understanding and civilian cooperation with U.S. forces. Today AnnaMaria Cardinalli, Ph.D., runs a private security firm in Santa Fe, NM, while continuing to enjoy opportunities to pursue her first love, of music.
"...In places it is raw, and this rawness can be uncomfortable. It also creates a strange sort of war memoir. There are the usual: tension and heroism, boredom and bureaucracy, bullets and bombs. But there are also the unusual: love and heartbreak, self-doubt and jealousy, fear and pride. Cardinalli falls in and out of love with a Marine, is captured and escapes from a local mullah, sits for days staring at blowing sand, marvels at the confidence of youth and its death and rebirth in the face of war, and strives to make her work matter. It's a vital mix that keeps you turning pages...The larger and better story--of a woman in many ways unprepared for the job she found herself doing, yet able to turn her native intellect, passion, and doggedness to the task-is well worth telling-- "New Mexico Magazine"
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