The After: A Veteran's Notes on Coming Home
"In twenty-four concussive, embodied, and nonlinear essays, Ramos creates a challenging and complex portrait of what it means to be a soldier, civilian, veteran, father, husband, and teacher - for Ramos ultimately becomes a creative writing professor, using the skills he developed in the military to help others tell stories and find meaning in their lives. While this may sound something like a redemption story, it is instead a brutally honest portrayal that refuses easy answers and seeks to help other war veterans realize they're not alone"--
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This fucking sucked. I struggled to finish it and I only did because it was so short and I am so behind on my stats for the year.
It was boring, self-indulgent without being interesting, and the “stream of consciousness” is clearly Ramos' only trick for getting across any idea or emotion that isn't bitching at civvies.
And yeah, it's partually on me for picking this up knowing I would have a strong emotional reaction to a vet memoir, but fuck it and fuck this guy. The cognitive dissonance of saying war made you empathetic while telling stories of really having to stop yourself from killing a ten year old or from reaching for a non-existent rifle when you see a hijabi is crazy. He's right in that he's neither a hero nor a victim, he's a criminal. GGs.
