The Return of the Solder

A short story that not only speaks to the effects of tragedy on the mental health of people. 

The true power of this novella is its critique of  innocence.  Is a comfortable lie better than the unpleasant truth?  While Chris finds happiness retreating to the past, believing he was 15 years younger, never have experienced the tragedy or war and the loss of his son, but at a steep cost.  By erasing his grief he also deletes the wisdom born from it: the wisdom that was learned from those tragedies was also lost.  Grief is a cruel but effective and powerful teacher.  To be innocent of our pain is to limit growth and be incomplete as a person.