According to the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), World War II veterans were expected to "put [their memories] behind them, forget the war, and get on with their lives." Triggered by various things, including deaths of loved ones, deteriorating health, or in the case of Terese Svoboda's uncle, the news of prison abuse at Abu Ghraib, PTSD can emerge after great expanses of time has passed. Soon after the Abu Ghraib scandal emerged in the media, Don Svoboda plunged into an uncharacteristic depression that led to his eventual suicide. Before his death, however, he furiously recorded tapes describing his duty as an MP in guarding prisoners in postwar Japan and sent them to Terese, the writer in the family.

Intrigued by her uncle's implications of foul play at the prison, Terese Svoboda embarks on a journey to uncover the source of her uncle's depression. She confronts the silence that the Greatest Generation is known for, spotty records at the National Archives, and memories of a prison unit that many would rather leave in the past.

"In spare, controlled prose, novelist and poet Svoboda (Tin God) turns to nonfiction to deliver a powerful memoir-turned-political exposé. Svoboda sets out to document the military experiences of her uncle Don, but the Abu Ghraib prison scandal unleashes her uncle's repressed memories, sending him into a deep depression. Before his eventual suicide, Don confesses long-unspoken secrets on cassettes for the author. The tapes reveal more about his service in post-WWII Japan, as well as detailed accounts of human rights abuses. As the book progresses, Svoboda grows increasingly aware of the consequences of Don's words. His stories are interspersed through-and haunt-every chapter 'I listen to his tapes several more times. His voice sounds much lower than I remember, it's so gravelly I could walk on it.' The raw quality of Svoboda's relationship to her uncle is as captivating as Svoboda's investigations of the postwar period are alarming. Because she tries to include so much, the author occasionally runs into structural problems-though some of her digressions actually help the reader: by including interviews with Japanese citizens, tales of frustration with the National Archives, and conversations with her father, Svoboda illuminates her text." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Delving into the past, in this wonderful, singularly wry memoir, turns up enough guilt to go around for everyone. And yet, such is the honesty, humor and literary skill of Terese Svoboda that she manages to turn this sad story into a triumph of compassion and insight." Phillip Lopate, author of The Art of the Personal Essay

"When Terese Svoboda agrees to write the war story of her uncle, who served in the American military police in Japan in the aftermath of World War II, she enters a nightmarish world of secrets and irretrievable truths. Lucid, self-knowing and artful, her memoir about getting the story will resonate for readers of every generation." Alice Kaplan, author of The Interpreter

"An awkwardly self-conscious but affecting blend of history and memoir." Kirkus Reviews

Terese Svoboda has published nine books of prose and poetry, most recently Tin God, and her writing has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Paris Review. She lives in New York.