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Burnt Olives
November 2005 - Lance Corporal Evan Rhodes is home, and he shouldn't be.
Twenty-three and medically discharged from his tour in Ramadi, Iraq as a scout sniper with the United States Marine Corps, Evan has to rebuild his life in his dying small town in Illinois.
While the country waves American flags and debates the war, Evan is forced to confront the ghosts that haunt him.
Nothing waits for him except old friends, dead-end jobs, half-empty bars, and the life he left behind. But he's not the only one trying to make sense of what's left. Evan and the community he tries to maintain attempt to shape something more stable than just survival.
Can Evan piece himself back together in a place that no longer feels like home?
Twenty-three and medically discharged from his tour in Ramadi, Iraq as a scout sniper with the United States Marine Corps, Evan has to rebuild his life in his dying small town in Illinois.
While the country waves American flags and debates the war, Evan is forced to confront the ghosts that haunt him.
Nothing waits for him except old friends, dead-end jobs, half-empty bars, and the life he left behind. But he's not the only one trying to make sense of what's left. Evan and the community he tries to maintain attempt to shape something more stable than just survival.
Can Evan piece himself back together in a place that no longer feels like home?
147 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2025
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3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2025
Not my usual read, but I've known the author for a few years online and would consider her a friend of mine. I loved the abruptness of Evan's decline due to the medication. I obviously am not a war vet but I went through a similar thing and the portrayal of that was really realistic and touching to read. I know absolutely nothing about war other than movies and I feel like I have a greater understanding of what people go through overseas and their struggles coming home. As someone who struggles with C-PTSD I felt seen by how the issues with the mental health system were depicted because thats really what it's like. It's impossible to "prove" that your trauma is worthy of support. Thats the sick fucked up world we live in. Im glad things worked out for Evan in a way where he wasn't completely okay yet, but things were starting to get better because thats how mental illness works. You are never completely okay and that's something I feel like a lot of books about mental health neglect
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2025
The intent was clearly good, but there was an obvious lack of research on the Marine Corps and the mentality of Marines, especially the Infantry and Scout Sniper community. Maybe this is not evident to the layperson, but anyone who has carried a rifle in a Victor unit will see it clear as day.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews