It is the year 1968, a time when America was embroiled in a devisive war in Southeast Asia, was questioning its entire social, economic, and political structure, and was experimenting with alternative lifestyles. Such is the world of a returning Vietnam veteran Gil Landon, trying to acclimate to civilian life with a heavy heart from unrequited love. Will this honest, highly educated young man find the woman he still cannot forget? Can he shape a positive destiny in a domestic environment shaken to its roots?
First excerpt. The books begins:
CHAPTER 1. America, November 1968
A cold wind pushed both fallen leaves and Gil Landon up the sidewalk of Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue. The flimsy collar of his faded army field jacket gave him slight relief from the wind’s bite. On this gray November day it was more difficult for Landon to withstand the advent of winter’s falling temperatures, now that the fire within him was no longer blazing. How did it happen that a man, once filled with the warmth of life’s opportunities, was becoming a gelid mass of humanity? Perhaps his dour disposition came from severe wounds, both to the body and spirit. It seemed on this murky day that the strain was more serious on his psyche, rather than the ache his body felt from the piece of shrapnel he took in the hip on a foggy hill in Vietnam eighteen months ago. The real chill was in his soul and he was in search for spiritual aid and comfort.
A series of reflections raced through Landon’s mind as he found new energy as the walk continued to Charlie Toogood’s place. Most of his thoughts centered on his recent and arduous days in the service. But a glimpse of joy, Becky Morris, if only for an instant, liberated his morose outlook. Where have you gone Becky Morris? She was out there somewhere, not seen by Landon for several years. Becky, bring me peace and hope again. Free my heart from this anguish. With you I thought I had a destiny. Now I walk without a compass. After enduring for all this time with an ache in his heart, Landon knew he had to meet her again to set his world straight. Unfortunately, her location was physically unknown but deeply positioned in Landon’s tormented heart.
Second Excerpt: Landon decides to start the final and fateful installment of a journey—his odyssey.
Love gone. Graduate study interrupted. Prospects for a good job bleak. Treatment for a war wound mediocre and uneven. Tormented by a country deeply divided. Quite a plateful for a Vietnam vet trying to make the adjustment to civilian life again. To make his current state more tolerable, he felt some relief by hitting the road. No, this journey wasn’t a lone eagle venture for Landon. This would be a symbolic voyage for those who survived Vietnam and were trying to pick up the pieces of their former lives, with little compassionate help from the country they served. Landon’s first step to rid the self-pity was to see how six of his former buddies, also back in the world, were faring in a nation torn apart by a struggle in Southeast Asia. Just maybe he could start to heal if he brought comrades in arms some cheer and hope. And he hoped the special gift he was carrying for each of them would raise their spirits.
