Review: Reza and Emily
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 4, 2014
"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell."William Tecumseh ShermanThere is truth here about the people who honor our country and fight in wars---the path they walk in other countries, the deeds done, the lives saved and lost.  Those men and women return, if they are lucky, to take a breather, train others and themselves, and then return to finish the conflict.  But everyone carries scars---and terrible, nightmarish memories---of the time served down range.First Sergeant Reza Iaconnelli has too many memories as a platoon leader taking downtime in  Fort Hood, Texas. He struggles with the grim reality of his uncontrolled alcoholism, and increasing problems with members of his platoon, both in command and not.Suicide is on the upswing on the base, and both young and older soldiers are cracking under the weight of combat-related stress. Captain Emily Lindberg is one of the medical team's new psychiatrists, hoping to help find and treat the reasons for the devastating numbers of victims, and soon she and Reza cross paths in the pursuit of their parallel duties.The seasoned veteran of combat and the idealist wanting to do good for her fellow soldier should never work out together at all, but Emily and Reza find a precious common ground, to find help for those soldiers who walk the razor's edge of sanity, and Reza discovers an important measure of comfort from her attentions as he wrestles with his own dark shadow of pain and addiction.This is more than a military romance;  it is a painful and poignant statement about walking wounded--those soldiers that carry their agonies and horror in private, seemingly normal but fighting daily demons of despair, personal grief, and more---only to reach a tragic and public breaking point.I was inordinately sad and teary when I finished the story, but happy to see Reza in a rehab program. Emily did not back down from his anger and anguish, but saw the scars and tattoos and pain he carried. And loved him, warts and all.Jessica Scott has penned a tale of sorrow, romance, redemption, and love--a reasoned look at what it means to grapple with the terror of war, and how love and care and support brings the wounded warrior home, to live another day.