by Mat Best
First published 2019
Mat Best built a following of over a million Facebook fans with his irreverent military humor, but his path from teenage Army recruit to online celebrity wasn't straightforward. Best grew up in a military family when 9/11 changed everything. He spent four years as an Army Ranger, followed by five years working as a private military contractor. The transition from military service to civilian life proved rocky as Best figured out how to channel his experiences into something meaningful. His breakthrough came through online videos that combined gallows humor with authentic military stories. The journey culminates when Best writes, produces, and stars in a film that he screens for deployed soldiers overseas. This moment represents the intersection of his military background and creative ambitions. Best uses the same ribald sensibility that made his videos popular to examine the challenges veterans face when leaving service and finding new purpose in civilian careers.
Genres: military-fiction, autobiography, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family
Setting: Army, United States
Period: 9/11, 21st Century
224 pages · Hardcover · Bantam