What Have We Done

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I have time. I need to make sure my girls get the most important meal of the day.” He pushes his glasses up on his nose. For most women, the nerdy tax lawyer wouldn’t elicit the rush of whatever chemical or emotion crowding Jenna’s chest. But this boring numbers man, white-bread as they come, fills that part of Jenna that was empty for so long. She knows they’re an odd match. She catches the looks, the whispers, that she must be in it for the money, the gossipers not realizing that Simon isn’t exactly Bill Gates, even if he resembles him. In fact, Jenna’s numbered Swiss account dwarfs their modest savings and Simon’s 401(k). Of course I can play.” He climbs into his shirt and jeans flung on the floor. Grabbing the handle to his guitar case, he charges out of the cabin.

AFs previous two books are full of twists and turns, cleverly connected characters, and plots that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. this story has none of those. its honestly the most straightforward mystery/thriller i think i have ever read. the main past event is given away in the prologue and the current present day events are so obvious that im not really sure what the purpose of reading is. with the “whodunnit” and the “whydunnit” given away, i feel like theres really nothing left for the reader to discover. it was like ‘Okay, here are your papers, grab your stuff and get on the bus and go home,’” he said. “I was sitting there with my duffel bag, thinking that yesterday I was a battalion commander. Now I’m just another joe on the bus.”Good morning,” Jenna says with exaggerated cheeriness that would give even Simon a run for his money.

I prefer clean novels, but for some reason the swearing in this book didn’t seem as distracting as it often does. In the scope of the books I've read by this author, I place this one in the middle. I really liked Every Last Fear, didn't care for The Night Shift. This one was okay, but nothing I'm going to remember for very long. Five kids fighting against a monster storyline reminded me of Stephen King’s “IT” ! Their reunion after two decades later after one of them dies also the similar storyline! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of What Have We Done in exchange for an honest review. They sit in silence for a while. Like they’re all wondering when life will take a turn for them. When they won’t be the outcasts, when they won’t have to face the indignities of the lunchroom, when they won’t have to go to bed worried about closing their eyes, when they’ll have families again.”

It turns out, the catalyst for these events was the murder of their friend, Benny, who had grown up to become a well-known lawyer and federal judge in D.C. David Wood defines moral injury as a trauma as real as a flesh wound; a jagged disconnect in our understanding of who we are and of what we and others ought to do and ought not to do. And a bunch of peripheral characters that I don't feel like typing out. They'll come up eventually. Jenna- trained as an assassin as a teen (we don’t get that full story unfortunately) but has left that life behind, trying to build a normal family now Though the trauma of their childhood has never left them, each went on to live accomplished–if troubled–lives. They haven’t seen one another since they were teens but now are reunited for a single haunting reason: someone is trying to kill them.

The author also uses the word “healing”. I much prefer this. One has to go through a moral healing – which may take several years. Wood's main point is that we never consider the psyhcological harm of war - asking human beings to put aside their morals and kill... and be okay with that. Most recently, in the past year and 1/2, my recovery has taken a decidedly spiritual turn. I have found a faith community that helps. I see in What Have We Done? the questions and themes of dealing with the moral component of war, and recovering from moral injury. I know I have used this exact phrase in talking about my combat experiences. This is an area where conventional modalities of healing and reintegration fail many veterans, leaving them to try to figure it out on their own. Some do; many don't. What Have We Done? is both invaluable, and a value-added contribution to the dialogue our nation is having about the long-term effects of war, and how best to deal with the men and women who fight on behalf of our nation. Although, US specific, I truly believe this is a universal phenomenon, and is a reflection of the human condition. I can attest I saw the effects of moral injury among the Iraqi soldiers I worked with.Twenty-five years ago, when Ben, Art, Jenna, Donny and Nico, were kids, they all lived together in a group home called Savior House. As is sometimes the case, their time there was fraught with abuse and neglect.