Overview

The impact of war, and the complex aftereffect it has on both veterans and civilians, is--for myriad reasons--largely invisible to the public. Media may create news cycles around horrors or stereotypes, but the effort required to redefine and sustain ''normal'' lives after war stays below the surface and out of sight. In Retire the Colors, nineteen thought-provoking stories by veterans and civilians consider the residual effects of Iraq and Afghanistan. A pacifist describes her decision to accompany her husband, an Iraq veteran, to the shooting range. A hospital worker in Mosul talks about what happens on a hunting trip back home with his grandfather. Two friends--one civilian one veteran--run an ultramarathon together. The wife of a combat medic considers their unusual nighttime routines. A mother and former 50 cal gunner navigates truth and lies with her children. These stories offer a grace uncommon in war literature today. They also make an appeal to readers: to witness with compassion the men and women who--because of war--possess the strength to show us what it means to be fully human. Contributors include: Tahani Alsandook, Joseph R. Bawden, Brian Castner, David Chrisinger, David P. Ervin, Teresa Fazio, CH Guise, Colin D. Halloran, Lauren Kay Halloran, Matthew J. Hefti, Brooke King, Randy Leonard, Eva KL Miller, Stewart Moss, Caitlin Pendola, Mark Solheim, Richard Allen Smith, Christopher Stowe, and Melissa Walker.

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9781944079079

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Reviews

''Superb. These are the kinds of behind-the-scenes stories every American should know about.'' --Andrew Carroll, editor of the New York Times bestsellers WAR LETTERS and BEHIND THE LINES ''These stories are masterfully rendered, illustrating resiliency and an innate creative longing to make sense. There's not a single throw-away in this entire collection.'' --'Tracy Crow, Eyes Right: Confessions from a Woman Marine ''We often see bumper stickers proclaiming that the troops are supported, but it's impossible to support without understanding a veteran's experience. The stories will help anyone gain insight into what it is like to go to war, and what supporting a service member looks like at the closest level.'' --Kelly Kennedy: award-winning journalist and author, They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq

Author Information

Dario DiBattista, a veteran of Iraq, has had his writing appear in the Washingtonian, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Connecticut Review, among others. His editing projects include O-Dark-Thirty, 20 Something Magazine, and jmww. Brian Castner is a nonfiction writer, former Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer, and veteran of the Iraq War. He is the author of All the Ways We Kill and Die, published in March of 2016, and the war memoir The Long Walk, which was adapted into an opera and named an Amazon Best Book for 2012. His writing has appeared at the New York Times, Wired, Outside, Boston Globe, Time, The Daily Beast, and on National Public Radio. In 2014, he received a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to cover the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, filing stories for Foreign Policy, VICE, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. David Chrisinger is a Communication and Veteran Transition Specialist who believes everyone has a story to tell and that it's imperative each of these stories is told in a way that leads to connection and understanding. To that end, he teaches a veteran reintegration course at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to help his students tell their stories of war and coming home. He also edited a collection of essays, See Me for Who I Am: Student Veterans Stories of War and Coming Home.

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