As the band broke through in popularity with the War Tour in 1983, Ali Hewson did not readily adapt to the new circumstances. After seeing her with the group at a trendy Hollywood nightspot, journalist Ethlie Ann Vare commented that Ali looked "as out of place as a dairymaid in a brothel." Although she had wanted to become a nurse, Hewson gave up on the notion, as the intense schooling required would have been incompatible with the direction that her husband's life had taken. Instead she focused on studying in the social sciences, to give her an ability to understand social policy and make a difference to people, similar to what nursing would have enabled. By Bono's own description, the marriage hit a period of strain in 1986 due to time commitments during the group's recording of "The Joshua Tree". Tensions continued in 1987 during the subsequent Joshua Tree Tour.