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Baggage!
It isn't the baggage we carry, but the manner in which we carry it! A war weary Marine sitting alone in the shadowy gray light of dawn reads for the hundredth time the obituary of a close friend. On his undersized kitchen table rests an invitation to his High School Reunion, an open yearbook, and a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels. He is not looking forward to the week's schedule of events or the memories of the past thirty years This is a work of fiction based in actual events. It's time to go!
262 pages, Paperback
Published March 25, 2017
5 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Dana L. Turk
3 books35 followersI am a 42 year Veteran of the United States Military, I began my service in 1971, joining the Marine Corps directly out of High School. I have had several successful and some not so successful businesses, ranging from construction to an online store front.
I've learned that whatever choices we make in life come with consequences. Some good, some bad and some indifferent but always present. It's the baggage we carry.
I am currently retired and at 64 years old, have decided that I prefer authoring a novel to physical labor.
I am not locked into any specific genre, of my 3 published works, one is fiction, one is historical fiction and the other is non-fiction. I prefer the fiction and historical fiction but find myself eclectic in my writing. Thinking in terms of fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi.
I will thank you in advance for your readership, ratings and honest reviews
Once I've read a book I will give it the rating and review it honestly deserves. I give credit to the author for the research and time dedicated to tell the story, although the subject may not mesh with my personal likes and dislikes.
Good reading. May your pages be filled with objects which inspire and enhance your mind and life.
I've learned that whatever choices we make in life come with consequences. Some good, some bad and some indifferent but always present. It's the baggage we carry.
I am currently retired and at 64 years old, have decided that I prefer authoring a novel to physical labor.
I am not locked into any specific genre, of my 3 published works, one is fiction, one is historical fiction and the other is non-fiction. I prefer the fiction and historical fiction but find myself eclectic in my writing. Thinking in terms of fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi.
I will thank you in advance for your readership, ratings and honest reviews
Once I've read a book I will give it the rating and review it honestly deserves. I give credit to the author for the research and time dedicated to tell the story, although the subject may not mesh with my personal likes and dislikes.
Good reading. May your pages be filled with objects which inspire and enhance your mind and life.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 25, 2018
Editorial Review from Readers Favorite
Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite - 5 Stars
Baggage! by Dana L Turk is a spellbinding novel that fans of military fiction will adore. Crafted with a lot of wisdom and compassion, it offers wonderful lessons on courage, loyalty, friendship, family, and pain. This is a beautifully told story that revolves around five friends — David, Terry, Dizzy, Jonathan, and Kip. The reader is introduced to their world; young people growing up in Colorado and eventually joining the Marines. But what awaits each of them in the Marines is uncertain. In this spellbinding novel, the author explores what binds them together, the choices they make and what drives them, their joys and pains, and the losses they suffer. Follow them in this exhilarating tale and discover their sense of humanity as they face battles, beginning in Viet Nam and going to the deserts of the Middle East.
I wasn’t sure I would read this book beyond the first page when I read the author’s comments about life and his allegory of the baggage, but, as I read on, I quickly got the feeling this would be a great story. Yes, the pace picks up pretty fast and the development of the characters becomes something that grabs readers' interest. Dana L Turk writes well and he has the gift of making readers believe his characters and story. The plot is intelligently imagined and written with great mastery. The prose is beautiful and it is imbued with a lot of wisdom and insight. Baggage! by Dana L Turk feels real and it is a compelling read. I couldn’t put it down. This is a novel with many layers and a philosophical depth that is as astounding as it is fitting.
Rate this book:
Edith Wairimu - 5 Stars
What if? is the question that sets the background for the compelling story, Baggage! by Dana L. Turk. We all have a past that contains times in which we wish we had made different decisions. Other times, we wonder how life would have turned out if we had chosen different paths. Baggage! is such a story. The book chronicles the lives of friends from different backgrounds. They all meet while in school and they all come from different social circles, some popular, others geeks and others just fall in between. The bond between them, however, is so strong and grows stronger as the years pass. They continuously share pain, challenges, and joy as they navigate through life.
In Baggage!, Dana L. Turk takes an interesting view of the way we look at life. We wonder how life would have turned out if we had made different decisions, and the baggage we carry as we live through the consequences of the decisions we made in our youth. Turk brilliantly interlaces these consequences with the events happening around us, events sometimes beyond our control. The lives of the five friends, David, Terry, Jonathan, Dizzy, Kipp, and Felecia, are a depiction of society today, a society bogged down by what-ifs and that does not delve truly into seeking the answers to these questions that plague our minds. In conclusion, Baggage! by Dana L. Turk challenged me to get rid of the weight that slows me down and steals my joy, while keeping in mind that every decision I make counts. Truly, a wonderful book!
Ray Simmons - 5 Stars
I liked Baggage! by Dana L. Turk. I liked it because it is dedicated to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and I am a proud member of that group. I liked it because a lot of the situations eerily reflected similar events, people, and places in my own life. I don't know why, but I like to see that. I like to see what other people might have done in a situation I was in. The writing of Dana L. Turk reflects an ability to deliver strong emotional content. If the author couldn't deliver on those powerful emotions, it would be a waste of time to read this book. But since he can, Baggage! is something most discerning readers won't want to miss. It is powerful in a very modern and American way.
The characters are the chief attraction in Baggage!, along with the writing that brings them to us in such an original and glowing format. These characters have tough lives and they are in tough situations, and Dana L. Turk shows them to us in ways that have us right there on the front lines of their lives, sharing their pain. The plots are taken from real American life. I saw some scenes from my own life in some of these scenarios, and if you have been alive long enough you will probably see some from yours. That is good writing at its best. Showing you your own life and truth through someone elses eyes.
Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite - 5 Stars
Baggage! by Dana L Turk is a spellbinding novel that fans of military fiction will adore. Crafted with a lot of wisdom and compassion, it offers wonderful lessons on courage, loyalty, friendship, family, and pain. This is a beautifully told story that revolves around five friends — David, Terry, Dizzy, Jonathan, and Kip. The reader is introduced to their world; young people growing up in Colorado and eventually joining the Marines. But what awaits each of them in the Marines is uncertain. In this spellbinding novel, the author explores what binds them together, the choices they make and what drives them, their joys and pains, and the losses they suffer. Follow them in this exhilarating tale and discover their sense of humanity as they face battles, beginning in Viet Nam and going to the deserts of the Middle East.
I wasn’t sure I would read this book beyond the first page when I read the author’s comments about life and his allegory of the baggage, but, as I read on, I quickly got the feeling this would be a great story. Yes, the pace picks up pretty fast and the development of the characters becomes something that grabs readers' interest. Dana L Turk writes well and he has the gift of making readers believe his characters and story. The plot is intelligently imagined and written with great mastery. The prose is beautiful and it is imbued with a lot of wisdom and insight. Baggage! by Dana L Turk feels real and it is a compelling read. I couldn’t put it down. This is a novel with many layers and a philosophical depth that is as astounding as it is fitting.
Rate this book:
Edith Wairimu - 5 Stars
What if? is the question that sets the background for the compelling story, Baggage! by Dana L. Turk. We all have a past that contains times in which we wish we had made different decisions. Other times, we wonder how life would have turned out if we had chosen different paths. Baggage! is such a story. The book chronicles the lives of friends from different backgrounds. They all meet while in school and they all come from different social circles, some popular, others geeks and others just fall in between. The bond between them, however, is so strong and grows stronger as the years pass. They continuously share pain, challenges, and joy as they navigate through life.
In Baggage!, Dana L. Turk takes an interesting view of the way we look at life. We wonder how life would have turned out if we had made different decisions, and the baggage we carry as we live through the consequences of the decisions we made in our youth. Turk brilliantly interlaces these consequences with the events happening around us, events sometimes beyond our control. The lives of the five friends, David, Terry, Jonathan, Dizzy, Kipp, and Felecia, are a depiction of society today, a society bogged down by what-ifs and that does not delve truly into seeking the answers to these questions that plague our minds. In conclusion, Baggage! by Dana L. Turk challenged me to get rid of the weight that slows me down and steals my joy, while keeping in mind that every decision I make counts. Truly, a wonderful book!
Ray Simmons - 5 Stars
I liked Baggage! by Dana L. Turk. I liked it because it is dedicated to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and I am a proud member of that group. I liked it because a lot of the situations eerily reflected similar events, people, and places in my own life. I don't know why, but I like to see that. I like to see what other people might have done in a situation I was in. The writing of Dana L. Turk reflects an ability to deliver strong emotional content. If the author couldn't deliver on those powerful emotions, it would be a waste of time to read this book. But since he can, Baggage! is something most discerning readers won't want to miss. It is powerful in a very modern and American way.
The characters are the chief attraction in Baggage!, along with the writing that brings them to us in such an original and glowing format. These characters have tough lives and they are in tough situations, and Dana L. Turk shows them to us in ways that have us right there on the front lines of their lives, sharing their pain. The plots are taken from real American life. I saw some scenes from my own life in some of these scenarios, and if you have been alive long enough you will probably see some from yours. That is good writing at its best. Showing you your own life and truth through someone elses eyes.
October 30, 2017
David, Dizzy, Kip, Terry,and Jonathan, four friends, whose pasts and futures are linked together in the chain of time. Growing up in the sixties in Colorado, the five friends find themselves joining the Marines together and one by one the story unfolds like the layers of a flower, revealing what fate has in store for each of them. The author states the book is based in truth. Names may be changed, but the stories are real microcosm of the fate of five men and the families that loved them. Time takes the reader to multiple battlefields that begin with Viet Nam and end in the deserts if the Middle East. Either way, the stories are filled with courage and loyalty, but mixed with horror and pain.
Each of the Marines has baggage, a past that motivates and drives them to make the decisions that propel them into the shadowy future. The book constantly asks, "What if..." questioning if each future is a random act or the natural result of the decisions a person makes.
Poignant and frightening, this is the story of real lives dedicated to the protection of their country's freedom, as well as the joint responsibility to their "band of brothers." Life doesn't always have happy endings, there is waste and death, horror and depression, leaving them to ask if things happen for a reason. What is it all for and was it worth it? Insightful look into the hearts and minds of those who give so much there is little left for themselves.
Each of the Marines has baggage, a past that motivates and drives them to make the decisions that propel them into the shadowy future. The book constantly asks, "What if..." questioning if each future is a random act or the natural result of the decisions a person makes.
Poignant and frightening, this is the story of real lives dedicated to the protection of their country's freedom, as well as the joint responsibility to their "band of brothers." Life doesn't always have happy endings, there is waste and death, horror and depression, leaving them to ask if things happen for a reason. What is it all for and was it worth it? Insightful look into the hearts and minds of those who give so much there is little left for themselves.
July 2, 2018
The 1960s bombarded the world with civil unrest non-more evident than in the United States of America. The Civil Rights movement was in full swing, the war with Vietnam was beginning to rear its ugly head, and time stood still for no one. The draft was soon to be upon the states demanding the service of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to fight for a war they may not have believed in.
The story begins with five young men who become fast friends at a school dance where cliques ruled the school and if you weren't a part of something you may be left behind. Despite the pressures of high school, the five school chums join the marines to follow one of their friends who is drafted. The buddy system guaranteed the group to venture off to boot camp together and ultimately overseas to Vietnam.
Dana Turk must have done his research because I was in the military and this is a vibrant, vivid, and seemingly personal account of five friends who experience the horrors of war (Vietnam, Beirut, Panama, and the Persian Gulf). Some are lost, some will die, one will take their own life, yet the bond never fades. Imagine a world of humor, remorse, solace, sadness, courage, honor, and commitment that engulfs you into believing in the relationship of comrades and battle buddies.
This thirty-year adventure culminates into a journey of self-discovery and friendship reaching into your soul that tugs at your heartstrings. If this story doesn't move you, then the subject matter wasn't of your liking. I usually don't read military books, but I enjoyed this so much I wish this was a trilogy, so I could read more.
Through all the men's strife, divorces, and family crisis they never wavered from being there for each other. When you lose a battle buddy, it digs deep into your flesh and bone, and it becomes one with your soul. These men ached for those lost, for love and friendship, and for the one thing they desired most the bond. This story will amaze you and bring you to your knees. Thank you for sharing this truly inspiring masterpiece. Dana Turk, please write more and never give up. You are awesome!
The story begins with five young men who become fast friends at a school dance where cliques ruled the school and if you weren't a part of something you may be left behind. Despite the pressures of high school, the five school chums join the marines to follow one of their friends who is drafted. The buddy system guaranteed the group to venture off to boot camp together and ultimately overseas to Vietnam.
Dana Turk must have done his research because I was in the military and this is a vibrant, vivid, and seemingly personal account of five friends who experience the horrors of war (Vietnam, Beirut, Panama, and the Persian Gulf). Some are lost, some will die, one will take their own life, yet the bond never fades. Imagine a world of humor, remorse, solace, sadness, courage, honor, and commitment that engulfs you into believing in the relationship of comrades and battle buddies.
This thirty-year adventure culminates into a journey of self-discovery and friendship reaching into your soul that tugs at your heartstrings. If this story doesn't move you, then the subject matter wasn't of your liking. I usually don't read military books, but I enjoyed this so much I wish this was a trilogy, so I could read more.
Through all the men's strife, divorces, and family crisis they never wavered from being there for each other. When you lose a battle buddy, it digs deep into your flesh and bone, and it becomes one with your soul. These men ached for those lost, for love and friendship, and for the one thing they desired most the bond. This story will amaze you and bring you to your knees. Thank you for sharing this truly inspiring masterpiece. Dana Turk, please write more and never give up. You are awesome!
May 24, 2017
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read. Since this is based on actual events, it is difficult to even begin to imagine all the "baggage" that he has carried with him. As a group of friends joining the military, there were many battles they fought together. The book contains lots of reminiscing and the questions that you may ask yourself later in life. It definitely has lots of insight and thought provoking moments that I think would be worth the read for adults, I would not recommend for those who cannot emotionally deal with expressing emotions well.
May 4, 2017
More of a memoir than a novel. If you enjoy hearing or reading other people's reminiscences, you will enjoy this book. A look back at friendships that began in High School & lasted through the decades.
There is a lot of military stories in the book since it involves the friends' through their military career, starting in Vietnam.
A good reminder for anybody that what you do will affect your future. We all carry baggage from our past!
There is a lot of military stories in the book since it involves the friends' through their military career, starting in Vietnam.
A good reminder for anybody that what you do will affect your future. We all carry baggage from our past!
May 24, 2017
This was a very real look at how this man's 'baggage' and a group of friends interacted. I love the 'memoir' writing style. My emotions were right there with the story as it progressed... however, I was thinking what else was there? what extra baggage and how would that be reacted too... very very good!!!
February 3, 2019
Made me think of my past
Sometimes we take for granted the acquaintances we make in high school, but this book reminds me of the uniqueness of people. Slow down. Introduce yourself to others (I was horrible at this); find out about them; stay in touch.
Sometimes we take for granted the acquaintances we make in high school, but this book reminds me of the uniqueness of people. Slow down. Introduce yourself to others (I was horrible at this); find out about them; stay in touch.
May 28, 2017
Great story that is based on truth. Lots of insight that makes you think. Appreciated being able to help review
July 1, 2017
Have you ever thought back in the memories of your mind? Some people don't want to, but if you do, you realize that everything thing you did, every where you went, every person you met and every relationship you've had all have a part in who you are today. This story about a 5 young men and a young lady takes you on a roller coaster ride of events and emotions they shared beginning in high school and continuing through to adulthood. I found myself laughing, crying, excited, worried and wondering "what if" all through the book. Pick up a copy and enjoy the ride.
April 23, 2017
Very interesting!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews