Civilianized

October 1, 2016
A young war veteran tells the story of how his tour in Iraq left him unable to cope with day-to-day civilian life.For Anthony (Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq, 2009, etc.), life as a soldier in the U.S. Army had its perks. The rush from constant, near-death experiences was like no other, he writes. But it also had a pronounced dark side. Days flowed together into a never-ending sameness that made remembering events difficult, and physically overtaxed soldiers, including Anthony, lived on prescribed pain medication. When the author returned to San Diego from his tour, he realized that he was addicted to painkillers and sleeping pills and that it had been two years since Id even kissed a woman. Lonely and miserable, Anthony decided that if his life did not improve in three months, he would kill himself. He began his quest for happiness by signing up for a three-day self-improvement course on how to attract women. Yet all he could manage were brief encounters that did nothing to save him from the emptiness he felt inside. Anthony then moved home to Massachusetts, where he joined a group of men who gathered together to pick up women. There, he met a fellow vet named Gunner, whose rage and addictions mirrored the authors and who would eventually attempt suicide. Anthony continued to stumble through his days and relationships, desperately searching for relief in alcohol, hypnosis, and PTSD groups for war veterans. He finally decided to kill himself by overdosing on Ambien. Catching sight of a copy of Shakespeares Henry V, however, he decided to write his story, an act that saved him from self-destruction and began to bring him back to life. Though the text moves to a conclusion that only outlines the recovery phase of his life, this at-times darkly comic memoir serves as an important reminder of the human cost of Americas involvement in overseas conflicts. An intense memoir that could have been more fully fleshed out.

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March 1, 2017

Teens who have grown up witnessing America's involvement in wars and who may know veterans who experienced warfare firsthand will be drawn to this raw, unsentimental memoir. Upon returning home, Anthony-who spent the previous year in Iraq assisting doctors during surgery in a combat support hospital-realizes that he misses the adrenaline rushes, sense of purpose, and camaraderie. Thinking about misguided politics invokes a rage in the 21-year-old that is channeled by putting himself in dangerous situations. But far worse is the feeling of numbness. Alcohol and drug abuse lead to suicidal thoughts and the resolution that if he doesn't recover in three months, he will kill himself. Believing that he has nothing to lose, Anthony signs up for a course on learning how to attract women. The narration has moments of levity as the instructor, whom Anthony describes as an "ape with ADD," guides a group of misfits in ridiculous exercises. Anthony has ups and downs as he copes with post-traumatic stress disorder and addictions during the allotted three months. Ultimately, his salvation comes through writing about the truths of his deployment as well as through sobriety and a romantic relationship. The author's message (that it's not necessarily the horrors of war that break a soldier- it's coming home) will resonate with audiences of all ages. VERDICT This fast, immersive work will especially appeal to reluctant readers for its grittiness and humor.-Sherry Mills, Hazelwood East High School, St. Louis

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2016
On his website, masscasualties.com, Anthony speculates about why he turned to artistic expression to deal with the memories of war, sometimes we need to go through those hurricanes and rainstorms to see and appreciate the sun. Anthony's second memoir, following the highly regarded Mass Casualties (2009), negotiates this turbulent climate again in a lively, accessible narrative that may remind some of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (1990). Anthony, a six-year army reservist, served a 16-month deployment as an operating room technician, during which he cauterized wounds, sutured skin, and sawed through limbs. Here he dissects his first months back from war and a pact he made with himself, that he would attempt reintegration for three months, then kill himself. Anthony describes stepping through a minefield of what he calls unexpected intimacy. He finds himself thrown together with men seeking the secret to meeting women, other veterans stumbling through their own traumas, and women attempting to maintain relationships with Anthony despite his explosive anger. Civilianized has the introspection of a literary memoir and the narrative momentum of a novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)