Frequently Asked Questions
Are these books fiction or nonfiction?
These books are based on lived experience, written as remembered narrative. Details, names, and some circumstances have been altered to protect privacy, but the emotional and physical truth of what is described remains intact.
Why did you choose to write in first-person past tense?
That voice was the only one that felt honest. These stories were lived, not studied or summarized. Writing them as memory keeps them grounded in what happened, not in what was later explained.
Why don’t the books explain PTSD or trauma in detail?
These books are not meant to diagnose or instruct. The effects of war are shown through behavior, consequence, and accumulation rather than analysis. The goal is to let readers feel what changed, not be told why.
What does the word “ledger” mean in the series titles?
A ledger records what happened without interpretation. These books function the same way—each one is an entry of what was carried, lost, endured, or survived, without moral framing or closure.
Why is humor included alongside violence and loss?
Because it existed there. Humor wasn’t relief or denial—it was maintenance. Leaving it out would be dishonest.
Why is sexuality not treated as a major plot point?
Because it wasn’t a problem to solve. It’s part of who I am, not something that needed justification, conflict, or resolution.
Are the Marines and Corpsmen in the books real people?
They are composites and representations of real experiences. Names and identifying details were changed intentionally. Once a name appears in the story, it belongs to that moment only.
Why do the books end without clear resolution?
Because life didn’t resolve neatly. The aftermath of war doesn’t offer conclusions—only continuation.
What do you hope readers take away from these books?
Understanding without instruction. Presence without spectacle. A sense of what it costs to stand between the wounded and the living, and what remains after.
Will there be more books in this series?
The series has an ending. The story settles rather than concludes. That felt right.