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Warflower: A True Story of Family, Service, and Life in Alaska
Bob Stark had no plans after high school. With his brother locked away in the only maximum-security prison in Alaska, his mom working overtime at the local grocery store, and his bad habits getting worse, he saw no hope for the future. Until the Army recruiter came to school offering an escape. Bob envisioned romantic adventures in Italy, life-saving missions in Africa, and friendships built on tough times - he wanted to be an honorable, dependable, and brave man - all of the things he was not. He signed the papers, and five days after graduation was sent out.
After basic training and airborne school, Bob is stationed in Italy where his eighteen-year-old dreams of travel and romance are cut short when his unit is ordered to parachute into Northern Iraq. He spends the next year in Iraq learning more than he could have ever imagined.
Four and a half years later, after two deployments and a long list of life lessons, Bob leaves Fort Campbell, Kentucky on a road trip west with the hopes of falling in love with the country he fought for. Along the way, he reunites with family and friends - from his happy-go-lucky mother in Arizona who talks to her incarcerated husband on the phone whenever she is not at work, to his foul-mouthed grandmother in Idaho who wears one glove and drinks beer with ice all day long, until finally reuniting with his high school sweetheart in Las Vegas - Bob begins a new chapter of self-discovery and acceptance that just may allow him to be the man he always wanted to be. Warflower is a coming-of-age story about family traditions, brotherhood, and one boy's journey into manhood without a father to teach him.
After basic training and airborne school, Bob is stationed in Italy where his eighteen-year-old dreams of travel and romance are cut short when his unit is ordered to parachute into Northern Iraq. He spends the next year in Iraq learning more than he could have ever imagined.
Four and a half years later, after two deployments and a long list of life lessons, Bob leaves Fort Campbell, Kentucky on a road trip west with the hopes of falling in love with the country he fought for. Along the way, he reunites with family and friends - from his happy-go-lucky mother in Arizona who talks to her incarcerated husband on the phone whenever she is not at work, to his foul-mouthed grandmother in Idaho who wears one glove and drinks beer with ice all day long, until finally reuniting with his high school sweetheart in Las Vegas - Bob begins a new chapter of self-discovery and acceptance that just may allow him to be the man he always wanted to be. Warflower is a coming-of-age story about family traditions, brotherhood, and one boy's journey into manhood without a father to teach him.
- GenresWar
356 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2022
37 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Robert Stark
2 books5 followersRobert Stark was eighteen when he parachuted into Iraq as an infantryman during the invasion of 2003. After the Army, he spent six years jumping between jobs, towns, temples, and churches in search of peace and purpose before buying land to settle down in his home state of Alaska. He lives and farms with his wife and children. Learn more at SecretGardenAlaska.org
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 4, 2022
Bob’s memoir of growing up in AK and serving in the Army’s 101’s is unflinching and authentic. He shows the things that we want to look away from or ignore and reminds us that humanity requires us look and feel and change and grow. It’s brave and hopeful and Stark offers himself up to the world in his words as a help for others.
September 8, 2022
I read this book both on my eReader and again in paperback. This is an unsolicited review.
Robert Stark’s book is the best book I’ve read so far this year. While I don’t typically read autobiographies or biographies in general, I have read quite a number over the years and this one makes a mark on my soul. Being raised not too terribly far from where I did in rural Alaska, I was immediately intrigued. It was a random chance meeting in a small local shop where I met the author face to face and we spent quite a bit of time talking and I was instantly drawn to his story, which was, as it happened, was to release the very next day.
The next morning I purchased the ebook version and read about halfway through, but as I always feel like reading from paper is better, it seemed an injustice to read it in the cold screen. I went out and bought the physical copy. To be honest, I read it in two sittings because I didn’t want to stop reading.
He begins quickly covering his early life but the main gist covers about five years of his life shortly before joining the military and touring in Iraq in the early 2000’s. Growing up in Alaska myself, I identified with him regarding rural living and rampant alcoholism which is very widespread in the state. His descriptions of Iraq and war were hard. Hard because he’s one of thousands of men (and now women) who have fought in the name of human rights or power struggles or personal freedom or justice. The inner turmoil soldiers deal with on a daily basis is hard to read. Not only during times of war and service but then long after, the memories, horrors, realities, and guilt which inundate daily life, sometimes unexpectedly.
Stark struggles with his emotions, injustice, alcoholism, anxiety, depression, feelings of abandonment and self-worth. Even through all this, he writes in such an approachable way that, even though the subject matter isn’t always the easiest, his kind heart and strength of spirit flow and it feels GOOD to read it. It’s a story which needs to be told and read and remembered. It’s also one I hope he continues.
I come away from the book humbled and with a pride for him. To be able to really dig deep into himself and have that willingness to be vulnerable before us the readers, strangers. To say, in the midst of hard, hard realities, there can still be moments of quiet and beauty. There is still redemption. There is meaning and worth and love… even when it doesn’t look the way we expected or wanted it to look. I appreciate his sharing of seemingly random or chance meetings who he sees one time and never again and yet he can share the impact. It reminds me that small moments can mean so much more than we might ever know. A smile to a stranger. Saying hello. Being present.
To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I cherished reading this. What an honor to read this story. I give this 5/5 stars. Great writing, perfect length. The cover and title work really well for the story and the interior formatting and added photos were a nice added bonus. Highly recommended to those who enjoy autobiographical stories, personal war remembrances, or novels about personal tragedy and growth.
Robert Stark’s book is the best book I’ve read so far this year. While I don’t typically read autobiographies or biographies in general, I have read quite a number over the years and this one makes a mark on my soul. Being raised not too terribly far from where I did in rural Alaska, I was immediately intrigued. It was a random chance meeting in a small local shop where I met the author face to face and we spent quite a bit of time talking and I was instantly drawn to his story, which was, as it happened, was to release the very next day.
The next morning I purchased the ebook version and read about halfway through, but as I always feel like reading from paper is better, it seemed an injustice to read it in the cold screen. I went out and bought the physical copy. To be honest, I read it in two sittings because I didn’t want to stop reading.
He begins quickly covering his early life but the main gist covers about five years of his life shortly before joining the military and touring in Iraq in the early 2000’s. Growing up in Alaska myself, I identified with him regarding rural living and rampant alcoholism which is very widespread in the state. His descriptions of Iraq and war were hard. Hard because he’s one of thousands of men (and now women) who have fought in the name of human rights or power struggles or personal freedom or justice. The inner turmoil soldiers deal with on a daily basis is hard to read. Not only during times of war and service but then long after, the memories, horrors, realities, and guilt which inundate daily life, sometimes unexpectedly.
Stark struggles with his emotions, injustice, alcoholism, anxiety, depression, feelings of abandonment and self-worth. Even through all this, he writes in such an approachable way that, even though the subject matter isn’t always the easiest, his kind heart and strength of spirit flow and it feels GOOD to read it. It’s a story which needs to be told and read and remembered. It’s also one I hope he continues.
I come away from the book humbled and with a pride for him. To be able to really dig deep into himself and have that willingness to be vulnerable before us the readers, strangers. To say, in the midst of hard, hard realities, there can still be moments of quiet and beauty. There is still redemption. There is meaning and worth and love… even when it doesn’t look the way we expected or wanted it to look. I appreciate his sharing of seemingly random or chance meetings who he sees one time and never again and yet he can share the impact. It reminds me that small moments can mean so much more than we might ever know. A smile to a stranger. Saying hello. Being present.
To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I cherished reading this. What an honor to read this story. I give this 5/5 stars. Great writing, perfect length. The cover and title work really well for the story and the interior formatting and added photos were a nice added bonus. Highly recommended to those who enjoy autobiographical stories, personal war remembrances, or novels about personal tragedy and growth.
December 7, 2023
Purchased after a glowing review from the bookstore proprietress, this is an unsparing look at Bob Stark's teens through mid-twenties. Lots of growing up in these pages; moving from a bored, angry teen through the violence of active war, and ultimately reconnecting with his mother and finding peace through the sobriety and rurality of coastal Alaskan homesteading in Happy Valley.
As far as Alaskana memoirs go, this one is frank about the realities of growing up in small towns (in this case, Seward) and the limits of opportunity that comes with it. He recognizes the natural beauty of Resurrection Bay but does not proselytize the area as an idyll which makes for fine balance.
Again, glad he's found solace with age.
As far as Alaskana memoirs go, this one is frank about the realities of growing up in small towns (in this case, Seward) and the limits of opportunity that comes with it. He recognizes the natural beauty of Resurrection Bay but does not proselytize the area as an idyll which makes for fine balance.
Again, glad he's found solace with age.
July 1, 2022
I couldn’t put this book down! Warflower is a true heartfelt story of growing up and struggles that aren’t talked about enough. I cried, smiled and cried again. This is a story everyone should read and experience Robert’s journey in his own words.
January 7, 2023
Couldn’t put it down. I loved the poetry and honesty.
July 8, 2023
So many good things to say about this book.
You feel good about yourself just for reading it.
Thank you for your service and sharing your heartfelt story Robert.
Blessings.
You feel good about yourself just for reading it.
Thank you for your service and sharing your heartfelt story Robert.
Blessings.
September 1, 2023
This well-written memoir of an American soldier was a beautiful breath of fresh air. While auto biographies are not my typical go-to in literature, I was pleasantly surprised by the way Stark wrote. His words were raw, real and vulnerable in a way that is so rare today. As an Army veteran myself, many of his memories resonated with my own, while others were tragically eye-opening. I laughed. I cried. I prayed. I was angry. I was reminiscent of comradre that I've only found in the military culture that formed me into the woman I am today. Stark wrote, "I did not realize how much I appreciated the flowers until being without them..." Warflower beautifully depicts the heart-ache, pride, home life, tragedy, psyche and uncertainty that encapsulates many of our service member's stories. A brilliant must-read for anyone wanting to love, support and better understand our military men and women.
June 26, 2022
Unflinching and intimate, Warflower is as much a philosophical journey as a memoir, a journey that ends not at a destination but with wiser questions. Stark gives no quarter to the self-indulgence that typifies much of the work of this genre, laying bare the truths about himself and his experiences as he encountered them, undressed with poetry or excuses. Don't be deceived, though: this is a work of art, not a recounting of facts, and as such, Stark's language harnesses all the best of literary skill, at once sweeping the reader along and bringing her over and over again to a standstill. Warflower is stunning and sobering, ugly and enlightening, and will leave the reader more than eager for the next book from this author. Recommended for thinkers and explorers of all sorts.
November 14, 2025
My god, I don’t know where to start. This book is awe inspiring, powerful, meaningful, and raw to its core. Robert took his writing skills he has developed as a young adult and developed an absolute must read. It will touch a student, a current serving military member, a veteran, or an elderly. It details his direct action encounter’s during his time in Iraq, to quickly packing up his belongings to exit the Army to chase the unknown ahead of him for the next couple of years leading to a rollercoaster of events and changes to his life. The book has motivated me to continue forward in all of my pursuits and I am sure it will do the same for others.
- Carlos Rod
- Carlos Rod
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May 10, 2024Beautiful read
This book gives hope and encouragement to those struggling with PTSD in all aspects of life. It is proof that you have two options in life: 1) you can sit and blame your past and circumstances as to why you will never be happy or 2) you can fight for yourself and make sure your future doesn't repeat your past.
This book gives hope and encouragement to those struggling with PTSD in all aspects of life. It is proof that you have two options in life: 1) you can sit and blame your past and circumstances as to why you will never be happy or 2) you can fight for yourself and make sure your future doesn't repeat your past.
January 14, 2024
A book worth sharing.
This book has an amazing insight into the life of a war veteran. You can feel his emotions on almost every page. The book has a fresh truthful story well worth reading.
This book has an amazing insight into the life of a war veteran. You can feel his emotions on almost every page. The book has a fresh truthful story well worth reading.
February 18, 2025
I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about Robert and all that he has gone through. It’s amazing to hear stories like these and witness someone who carries it all with grace and strength. Thank you for all that you have done for our country soldier! A real life hero. 👏🏼
March 10, 2024
Interesting
A well told story of a young man’s difficult early life and later redemption. It is well written and kept my interest.
A well told story of a young man’s difficult early life and later redemption. It is well written and kept my interest.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews