PURPLE HEART

McCormick's story tells of the uncertainty of life in a war zone through the experiences of one soldier. Adam Verner's narration is straightforward and unemotional. Private Matt Duffy receives a Purple Heart when he wakes up in an army hospital in Iraq. But, haunted by the death of a young Iraqi boy and confusing memories of what happened, he doesn't feel like a hero. Without judgment, Verner shines a light on the human cost of war--on soldiers and civilians-- allowing the listener to weigh, with Matt, the cost to humanity that war, violence, and distrust exact. Delivering the objective third-person viewpoint, Verner brings listeners into Matt's world, allowing us to feel his fears, confusion, and need to understand what happened, and reach our own conclusions. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2015]