The students in UCSB's Veterans Writing Workshop this past quarter arrived there after tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of the world. As they worked to tell their stories — under the tutelage of Dr. Susan Derwin, who first devised the program five years ago — they not only dug into their experiences, but they ended up with well-crafted, thoughtful, curious, and utterly real writings. Here are stories by eight veterans of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
The Heaviest Shadow
by Edgar Guapo