Serving in the military is difficult during the best of times. It is made harder when a soldier must leave their family and go forth to a country to protect the rights of others. In this book we find a soldier who has made a promise to protect his country from all enemies both foreign and domestic. He serves two tours in Iraq. He has lived through the loss of his best friend JT, who was also a soldier. Imagine his feelings of devastation when he is called into his commanding officer’s office and told he is being sent home early due to and incident that has put his four year old daughter in the hospital. Imagine how he must feel being so far away knowing he was unable to protect those he cherishes more than life itself. Those imaginings don’t even begin to tell you or explain to you what this soldier went through. The author has done an excellent job of stepping into the mind of a soldier. They have shown the reader all sides of the soldier and the complex life they live. I do remember when the Iraq war started after 9/11. My brother and three of my nephews were shipped over. I remember hearing from my brothers some of the things that were going on and being told not to tell my mom. He wanted to spare her the atrocities he saw. I remember my own son joining the army. I also remember my heart dropping when he told me he was being sent to Korea. Everyone kept telling me that it wasn’t like being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. They were right. He wasn’t right in the thick of things. He had to worry about the dictator just a few miles from his camp firing a missile at him. I was so proud of him when he told me he wasn’t afraid of dying if it meant he could protect the lives of his loved ones. He left behind a pregnant wife, son, daughter and step-daughter. Like Rory, in the story, I have no doubt my son would go to all lengths to protect all member of his family. There were so many connections to make to this book. I am proud to stand behind ALL of our soldiers and what they stand for. This is a book that everyone needs to read. I recommend it to everyone. My only word of warning is some of the language. The content was so good I could just skim over that part.

I received a copy from the author in exchange for my honest review. ( )