Veterans' Voices: Reflections on Service

by Kevin Powers

National Book Award finalist, Iraq war veteran, novelist and poet Kevin Powers creates a deeply affecting portrait of a life shaped by war. Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting captures the many moments that comprise a soldier's life: driving down the Texas highway; waiting for the unknown in the dry Iraq heat; writing a love letter; listening to a mother recount her dreams.

by Phil Klay

When Phil Klay left the Marines a decade ago, after serving as an officer in Iraq, he found himself part of the community of veterans who have no choice but to grapple with the meaning of their wartime experiences—for themselves and for the country. In essay form, Klay reckons with some of our country's thorniest concerns. In the name of what do we ask young Americans to kill, and to die? In the name of what does this country hang together?

by Jason Kander

The former Army intelligence officer and politician discusses his decade-long battle with depression and PTSD from his service in Afghanistan and how his family supported him through the challenging treatments that helped him to heal.

by Anuradha Kristina Bhagwati

Bhagwati describes her transformation from military recruit to radical activist working to effect policy reform in the military, a change that came about as a result of the misogyny, racism, abuse, and injustice she suffered while an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

by Remi Adeleke

Describes the inspiring story of the Remi Adeleke from his childhood in Nigeria and losing his father, to being raised by a single mom in the Bronx and ultimately moving from troubled teen to Navy SEAL to actor.

by Changiz Lahidji and Ralph Pezzullo

Master Sergeant Changiz Lahidji served on Special Forces A teams longer than anyone in history, completing over a hundred combat missions in Afghanistan. Changiz is a Special Forces legend. He also happens to be the first Muslim Green Beret. Here he shares the stories of his contributions to history-shaping operations, including the Iran hostage rescue of 1980, the 1993 conflict that inspired Black Hawk Down, and the locating of Osama Bin Laden.

by Tee Marie Hanible with Denene Millner

After surviving the death of her father, enduring foster care, and being expelled from school, Tee joined military reform school where she began uncovering her inner warrior. As part of one of the first female classes of recruits to complete the Marine Corps Crucible and the Marine Combat Training, and as the only woman to deploy with her unit to Iraq in 2003, Tee tested her mettle and learned the key to becoming an unbreakable woman. 

by Amy McGrath; with Chris Peterson

A memoir of the author's journey to becoming a fighter pilot (and the first female Marine to fly an F/A-18 combat mission); her twenty years in the military; and the events that led to her decision to run for U.S. Senate.

by Michael Anthony

After twelve months of military service in Iraq, 21-year-old Michael Anthony stepped off a plane, seemingly happy to be home—or at least back on US soil. Two weeks later, he was stoned on Vicodin, drinking way too much, and picking a fight with a very large Hell's Angel. At his wit's end, he came to an agreement with himself: If things didn't improve in three months, he was going to kill himself. Civilianized is a memoir chronicling Michael's search for meaning in a suddenly destabilized world.

by Teresa Fazio

In this coming-of-age story set in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a Marine Corps communications officer struggles with her past, her sense of authority, and her womanhood. A forbidden affair placates her need for love and security. But emptiness, guilt, and nightmares plague Fazio through her deployment—and follow her back home.

by Brooke King

The story of a girl who went to war and returned home a woman, War Flower gathers the enduring remembrances of a soldier coming to grips with post-traumatic stress disorder. As King recalls her time in Iraq, she reflects on what violence does to a woman and how the psychic wounds of combat are unwittingly passed down from mother to children. War Flower is ultimately a profound meditation on what it means to have been a woman in a war zone and an unsettling exposé on war and its lingering aftershocks.

by Matt Young

A combat veteran and writing instructor traces the darkly comic story of his youth and masculinity as they were shaped in an age of continuous war, describing how he joined the Marines as a way to temper his reckless nature before enduring three Iraq deployments shaped by Marine Corps culture and the misguided motivations that compel young men in wartime.