Mark Pickering March 1, 2008

While Support Our Troops is a favorite refrain among Americans today, the support often ends once soldiers return home from their tours of duty. Unable to find the resources needed to adjust to civilian life, many war veterans end up on the streets, suffering from similar effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. Atlanta author Mark B. Pickering offers his insights to these hidden causalities of war in his new novel Story of the Sand.
Story of the Sand follows Sampson Roy, an Iraq war veteran who returns home to Georgia only to find himself unable to cope with society or interact with his family and loved ones. While his injuries are not physical, Roys psychological wounds from his time spent in the Middle East have a much deeper impact on his life.
He struggles with alcohol dependence, homelessness and suffers from a mental breakdown. While Roy eventually works to conquer his demons and return to the life he once knew, the ghost of a fellow soldier observes and struggles with his own need to let go of the past.
In researching his book Pickering, conducted in-depth interviews with American veterans, including ex-soldiers from World War II, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. His new novel is based on what he learned from these firsthand conversations with veterans, all of whom displayed similar effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.


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