Day 27: Favorite collection of stories

Two days ago I should have written about my favorite collection of stories. Since I didn't, I will now. One of the things that this challenge has shown me is how narrow my choice of reading really is. In several categories I begin with, well I don't really read much....whatever. That is true of this day as well. I am not a big fan of short stories, so collections of stories are, obviously, not really my thing. Having said that, however, I have come across some incredible collections of stories in the recent past and have chosen one of those to use for this day's challenge.

War Is...edited by Marc Aronson and Patty Campbell



This book was one that hit hard for me in a lot of different ways. I come from a military family. My dad was in the army, my grandfather was in the air force, my little brother joined the air force right out of high school...etc. etc. I know the life of the military.

Also, I am a pacifist. It is a belief I hold to very strongly and with much conviction, but also one that I struggle with every single day. I believe, in my heart, that the only way to achieve peace, is by being peaceful. I also know that is so hard that it may just be impossible. For me that is what Christianity boils down to. Can I believe the ideological and sometimes even seemingly ridiculous claims of Christ? Or do I need to cling to what I know can protect me and the ones I love. I make no bones about that being a hard question to answer.

I really appreciated this book so much because in very simple terms the book looks at war. It looks at all sides of war and it looks at it from many different perspectives. The two editors have totally opposite views on war, which keeps the book from becoming biased toward any particular side, and the stories within are written by all kinds of different people who have seen all kinds of different sides and realities of war. One of the big reasons the editors put this book together was for teenagers who live in a world where joining the military is becoming the 'nobel' thing to do. They did it because they want young people to see more than what a recruiter will tell them. Not to keep kids from doing it, but to make sure they were doing it with eyes and hearts wide open and knowing.

If these issues are issues for you, if you struggle with what to believe about war and violence, or even if you are just curious to see different viewpoints this book is a simple and easy read, that is full of complex and hard truths. Be warned, many of the writers are soldiers and the language is pretty harsh. The stories they paint are pretty hard and violent. They are also truthful and try to be as well rounded and complete as possible.