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Standing Down: From Warrior to Civilian
Standing From Warrior to Civilian was created for Talking Service, the Great Books Foundation’s initiative to develop reading and discussion programs for veterans, as well as their families, friends, service providers, and caregivers. Standing Down Forty-four selections, from Homer's Iliad to personal accounts of members of the service who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, and memoirs that speak to past experiences, concerns, and aspirations of those who have served in the military and made the often-difficult transition back into civilian life.
512 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 28, 2014
Wonderful. As is noted on the back cover, this book "was created for Talking Service, the Great Books Foundation's initiative to develop reading and discussion programs for veterans, as well as for their families, friends, service providers, and caregivers."
It's a collection of short essays, excerpts from books, poetry, journal entries, and other writings about war and the experience of returning and re-entering civilian life. The contents are arranged in chronological order, starting with a section of the Iliad and closing with pieces written by OIF (Iraq) and OEF (Afghanistan) veterans about those wars and their impacts on the authors and those around them. Each piece is followed by a handful of questions for analysis and discussion.
I am now (December 2014) participating in a weekly Talking Service group at the local VA hospital; participants range from a Vietnam vet to men and women home from OIF and OEF. Each week we choose one or more selections to read and discuss the following week. It's a challenging and sometimes emotional process, and I think it's proving therapeutic for several of us.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand what some of the veterans of America's wars have experienced and are still experiencing. No author in this book claims to speak for his or her peers collectively, and their experiences and views differ. What is the same across the board is that none of them came home unchanged.
It's a collection of short essays, excerpts from books, poetry, journal entries, and other writings about war and the experience of returning and re-entering civilian life. The contents are arranged in chronological order, starting with a section of the Iliad and closing with pieces written by OIF (Iraq) and OEF (Afghanistan) veterans about those wars and their impacts on the authors and those around them. Each piece is followed by a handful of questions for analysis and discussion.
I am now (December 2014) participating in a weekly Talking Service group at the local VA hospital; participants range from a Vietnam vet to men and women home from OIF and OEF. Each week we choose one or more selections to read and discuss the following week. It's a challenging and sometimes emotional process, and I think it's proving therapeutic for several of us.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand what some of the veterans of America's wars have experienced and are still experiencing. No author in this book claims to speak for his or her peers collectively, and their experiences and views differ. What is the same across the board is that none of them came home unchanged.
October 14, 2017
A diverse collection of short stories, poems, and other writings related to the experiences familiar to soldiers and their families. This project by the National Endowment for Humanities is meant to connect with veterans and increase awareness of the veteran experience among citizens. It is a beautiful collection which is at times heartbreaking and horrible, but necessary.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews