With the ink barely dry on the contract, I’m thrilled to announce my first publication of 2023: a story that will be published in The Southern Review this April.

I’d like to thank many people, especially Joe Fye for his experience and expertise. Also, Harry Smith, who saved my bacon in a late revision. Last but not least, Sacha Idell, who made the dream come true.

The research for this story was intense, and some of my key sources were Helen Gerhardt (especially the experiences she shared over a decade ago during a community presentation on the Iraq War), Michael Tucker, Sebastian Junger, and Tim Hetherington. I was fortunate to meet Dexter Filkins in person when he spoke at DePauw, and I spent a lot of time with his book The Forever War while composing the story.