As the U.S. prepares to pull out of Afghanistan, veterans are left with their acrid memories from overseas and at home: difficult to process, even harder to talk through with their friends or their family. Through the veterans writing workshops at UC Santa Barbara — which Professor Susan Derwin has offered for about a decade — emotions can be unpacked and histories discussed with other student veterans, an experience that one student defined as “liberating.” The stories they have written over the years have been both astonishing and captivating.
In a public reading that will be virtual this year, the student veterans will share their work and their lives. The event takes place on Thursday, May 27, at noon. To register in advance and receive the Zoom link, please go to the event page at bit.ly/Veterans-Reading .