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Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by Clint Van Winkle
hldonavant's review against another edition
5.0
View into the mind of a deployed Marine who is reintegrating back into civilian life. Makes you compassionate to what some could be going through. Very helpful to family and friends of afghan vets.
kennagriffin's review against another edition
4.0
It was difficult to follow Author Clint Van Winkle's narrative at times as it jumped from present-day to memories of his experiences (real or imagined) as a Marine in Iraq.
The memories included those of a little girl in a white-and-red-striped shirt that the Marine may have killed, starving soldiers scouring garbage-ridden streets for food, the author nearly stepping on an explosive and stepping in the middle of what was left of a Marine killed in combat.
It was difficult to separate the horrors between what was real and what was flashback, but that is what made the book amazing. Anyone who has studied or experienced Post-traumatic Stress Disorder understands that the back-and-forth that makes you feel like you're going crazy is a primary symptom of the mental disorder.
After reading less than a chapter of the book, I discussed its contents with a friend who serves in the Army. I wanted to know if it was overblown. I discovered that it is not. Van Winkle gives an honest look at what it's like to be a combat Marine during wartime and upon return home. Anyone with an opinion about the war should read this book and see if it alters their view. Anyone who has ever casually dismissed a veteran should do the same.
We send these men and women to places they've never even heard of to fight for something intangible. We train them to kill, let them loose and tell them to be honorable but not to die. We arm them with equipment that fails, poor medical treatments and without enough food or supplies to survive. We tell them to kill anything that threatens them–men, women, children, animals... We show them that they might accidentally kill one another. Then we bring them home and tell them to go back to life as it was before. When they can't, we give them second-class treatment and view them as violent, angry and dangerous.
Soft Spots isn't about how war is wrong or right. It's a courageous memoir about those who survive but can't live.
The memories included those of a little girl in a white-and-red-striped shirt that the Marine may have killed, starving soldiers scouring garbage-ridden streets for food, the author nearly stepping on an explosive and stepping in the middle of what was left of a Marine killed in combat.
It was difficult to separate the horrors between what was real and what was flashback, but that is what made the book amazing. Anyone who has studied or experienced Post-traumatic Stress Disorder understands that the back-and-forth that makes you feel like you're going crazy is a primary symptom of the mental disorder.
After reading less than a chapter of the book, I discussed its contents with a friend who serves in the Army. I wanted to know if it was overblown. I discovered that it is not. Van Winkle gives an honest look at what it's like to be a combat Marine during wartime and upon return home. Anyone with an opinion about the war should read this book and see if it alters their view. Anyone who has ever casually dismissed a veteran should do the same.
We send these men and women to places they've never even heard of to fight for something intangible. We train them to kill, let them loose and tell them to be honorable but not to die. We arm them with equipment that fails, poor medical treatments and without enough food or supplies to survive. We tell them to kill anything that threatens them–men, women, children, animals... We show them that they might accidentally kill one another. Then we bring them home and tell them to go back to life as it was before. When they can't, we give them second-class treatment and view them as violent, angry and dangerous.
Soft Spots isn't about how war is wrong or right. It's a courageous memoir about those who survive but can't live.
bartendm's review against another edition
3.0
A personal and very brave memoir of a soldier's experience in war and afterwards. It is an important contribution to this growing body of literature. It is not a feel good book and does not have a sweet happy ending, but it is an important testament to what so many of our soldiers experience.
rachelstocki's review against another edition
4.0
This was a difficult book for me to read, for a variety of reasons. The first was the content itself. Some of the stories made me want to either cry or wince, but at the same time I truly appreciated Van Winkle's honesty. The second reason this was a hard read was the lack of any chronological order in the story. Once I got to the end I was able to grasp the journey the book had led me through, but as I was reading the jumps between war, home, and hallucinations were slightly confusing.
On that note, however, I thought this memoir was a heartbreakingly honest depiction of what someone goes through when they get home from war. I truly felt for Van Winkle and the horrors he went through, and his memoir has given me an even greater respect for our troops and the service they provide.
On that note, however, I thought this memoir was a heartbreakingly honest depiction of what someone goes through when they get home from war. I truly felt for Van Winkle and the horrors he went through, and his memoir has given me an even greater respect for our troops and the service they provide.
alyssaarch's review against another edition
4.0
This intense memoir provides insight into the life of a Iraq war veteran suffering from PTSD. It is an eye-opening read and one that I would recommend for everyone; especially those who have loved ones who served in Iraq. It provides a more realistic view to war than what we are used to, and while some details are grotesque and horrific to imagine, it is refreshing to get the perspective from someone who has known the reality of war and who is willing to talk about it and how it affected him.
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