Minefields of the Heart: A Mother's Stories of a Son at War
"Minefields of the Heartis very finely written. Because a mother's love is so overpowering, so singular in its focus, I had half-feared that this book would be a morass of melodrama. But Sue Diaz is a disciplined and careful writer and this, ultimately, is where the power of her book comes from. She is spare where most writers would be mawkish, she is understated where most writers would be sentimental, and she understands that life, death, war, grief, gratitude and the loss of innocence--hers, and her son's--need no baroque writerly adornments. The truly great and terrible stuff of life is most dramatic when told as simply and plainly as possible. Over the course of her book, the reader comes to know not just Roman, but the whole Diaz family and how they all aged and matured both during and after Roman's two harrowing deployments."  --From the Foreword by Jim Frederick, author ofBlack Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death"Minefields of the Heartis an accessible and well told reflection on the impact of war on the families of our troops today. It is an intimate look through a mother's eyes, giving us a heartfelt appreciation of the military family experience."  --Edward Tick (author ofWar and the Soul) and Kate Dahlstedt, co-directors ofSoldier's Heart"Harrowing, hopeful, and beautifully written. Ernie Pyle meets Anne Lamott."  --Sharon Bray, author ofWhen Words Heal: Writing Through Cancer"Minefields of the Heartis a brilliant, beautiful, and compelling book. Sue Diaz writes as the mother of one soldier and the daughter of another. She traces her son's transition from a boy to a combat-wounded veteran of two tours in Iraq. She lets him speak for himself through emails, letters and conversation, all the while growing in her understanding of him and of war. She weaves together her family's history with the larger events through which they have passed. Though intended specifically `for all who have served and those who love them,' the book should be read by any American who wants to understand what war really does to those who endure and to their families. As a bonus, the book is a real page-turner. You can't put it down until you finish it."  --William P. Mahedy, author ofOut of the Night: The Spiritual Journey of Vietnam Vets"This is a book to break your heart, and to heal it. Diaz writes to and for her son, to and for the veterans she leads in writing workshops. The larger gift of this book is its generosity, allowing the reader to take the journey of a mother whose son carries the wounds of two deployments to Iraq.Minefields of the Heartteaches us what we might rather not know, but knowing, we are deeper and better human beings."   --Pat Schneider, founder, Amherst Writers & Artists, and author ofWriting Alone and with Others