First published 2011
Theodore Dickerson steps off the train in Virginia, finally home after years as a prisoner of war in Korea. He was among 23 American POWs who initially refused to return home after the war ended in 1953. Now, in the McCarthy Era, his hometown welcomes him as a hero. But Theodore carries invisible wounds from the camp that complicate everything he once knew. His ex-fiancée has moved on, creating tension that bleeds into his new marriage. The Virginia he cherished feels different, or perhaps he is the one who has changed. Theodore struggles to reconnect with a place and people that feel simultaneously familiar and foreign. The prison camp altered him in ways that surface unexpectedly, challenging his ability to rebuild the life he dreamed of during captivity. His return becomes a battle to reconcile the man he was before Korea with who he has become.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, redemption, second-chance
Setting: Korea, Virginia
Period: 1950s, McCarthy Era
70 pages · Paperback · Nouvella Books
Content warnings: mental-illness, war