A couple of years ago, my personal trainer at the time and I talked about favorite reads. We shared a similar history and subsequent outlook on life. I liked her, too, so I trusted her judgment. One of the books she highly recommended was The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. On the way home from the gym I stopped at the library, borrowed the book, and devoured it in one night. The book is a collection of stories based on O’Brien’s experience in Vietnam. One scene in particular disturbed me. It was so devastating, vivid. A dark example of how war can mentally eat a person. The title reflects the items, weight, and significance of what a soldier carried in his pack. Those items were woven throughout the book when each was used – wonderfully written. A must read to get a tiny glimpse into the horror a soldier goes through that most of us cannot even fathom or comprehend.