What do you think?
Rate this book
Back to Brooklyn: A Vietnam Memoir
186 pages, Paperback
Published June 9, 2024
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 13, 2025
In “Back to Brooklyn: a Vietnam Memoir,” JD Rafferty delivers a quietly powerful and deeply personal story that stays with you long after the final page. Through the eyes of Jack Rafferty – a young man newly in love and reluctantly bound for Vietnam – we walk the streets of Brooklyn, say goodbye to familiar faces, and embrace ourselves for the unknown.
What unfolds is not just a war story, but a beautifully told reflection on what it means to leave home, serve alongside family, and return with both pride and pain. Jack’s writing captures the anticipation, loneliness, moments of connection, and quiet heartbreak of a soldier‘s life overseas – especially the bittersweet bond of serving alongside his oldest brother, Jim. His honesty about loss, both personal and collective, adds a layer of tenderness that makes this memoir, not only compelling, but deeply moving.
And when Jack returns home, we don’t just feel his relief. We feel the weight of what he carried and the quiet triumph of having fulfilled the duty he never wanted, but honored with everything he had.
“Back to Brooklyn” is a love letter to the neighborhood that shaped him, a tribute to the brother he served with, and a deeply human look at how war changes a person – not only in sorrow but in strength. This memoir reminds us that coming home is his own kind of courage.
What unfolds is not just a war story, but a beautifully told reflection on what it means to leave home, serve alongside family, and return with both pride and pain. Jack’s writing captures the anticipation, loneliness, moments of connection, and quiet heartbreak of a soldier‘s life overseas – especially the bittersweet bond of serving alongside his oldest brother, Jim. His honesty about loss, both personal and collective, adds a layer of tenderness that makes this memoir, not only compelling, but deeply moving.
And when Jack returns home, we don’t just feel his relief. We feel the weight of what he carried and the quiet triumph of having fulfilled the duty he never wanted, but honored with everything he had.
“Back to Brooklyn” is a love letter to the neighborhood that shaped him, a tribute to the brother he served with, and a deeply human look at how war changes a person – not only in sorrow but in strength. This memoir reminds us that coming home is his own kind of courage.
Displaying 1 of 1 review