4 out of 4 stars
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What should a citizen do when asked to fight in a war they don’t believe in? What do they owe the country? These poignant questions introduce us to Dick Hattan’s lifelong moral dilemma in his memoir Invisible Scars of War. The author talks about his participation in the Vietnam War and the conflicting thoughts and emotions that still haunt him to this day. Central to his discussion is the concept of moral injury: a wound that affects anyone who does things that go against their moral values.
Hattan doesn’t follow a strict chronology throughout the book. Though he describes his childhood and early adulthood, the months in service, and the post-war years, these details are interspersed with contemplative chapters featuring reflections from decades later. There are thirty chapters in total, usually quite short.
The book’s structure helps to keep the narrative dynamic, but it has a small downside: the author occasionally talks about subjects he already covered in previous chapters since events are narrated in both chronological and psychological order. This is a minor issue, however, and it shouldn’t bother most people.
The author uses carefully selected words to transport the reader into the places he describes. Whether it’s his multicultural neighborhood or his company street in Camp Campbell, you almost feel like you're there yourself. Besides vivid and gripping descriptions, the book also spreads pictures and poems throughout the chapters, further engaging the reader.
Invisible Scars of War is more than a memoir; it also chastises the country for sending young men to kill and be killed in an unjust war and condemns the inaction of institutions, especially the Catholic Church, and their failure to support veterans afterward. The author wrote the book both as self-therapy and as a conversation starter about the Vietnam War, especially the moral injury sustained by veterans.
I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars, considering it a masterful memoir. I only found one sentence fragment and a minor typographical error, though there were some questionable omissions of commas and a couple of formatting issues. Nevertheless, the book’s flaws are minor and can be easily fixed. I wholeheartedly recommend it to people interested in stories from veterans.
Since the author is an ordained priest raised in a traditional Catholic environment, the book focuses a lot on Hattan’s spiritual life. His struggles are relatable to anyone regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof, but Christian readers should enjoy the book the most. There are a few instances of profanity, so given that and the subject matter, I don’t recommend it to younger audiences.
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Invisible Scars of War
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