Reading response #1: something like normal

                Something like normal by Trish Doller is a well written gate way. That is very relatable to anyone who is the armed forces or knows someone who is.  The book is about a young man named Travis who is on his first leave from the Marine Corps after his best friend Charlie died in combat.  The reader gets to go on a journey alongside him as he learns how to function in society, deal with his PTSD and cope with his best friend’s death that he feels like is his fault.

 

Doller does a fantastic job getting inside the head of the marine and making these situations raw real and shows how it actually affects the people and the people around them. Her writing is easy to read and relatable because it’s not formal and you as the reader actually feel like you are inside the head of the character. My favorite part about her writing style is that she talks about sticky subjects like death, the living conditions while at war and how it’s hard to live a normal life after seeing all that you have in war.  At the end of the book he writes a letter to Charlie to help himself cope and you can see just what he’s dealing with:

 

I’ve been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, but just talking to a therapist doesn’t make it all magically disappear. I mean, it’s good to unload some of the stuff I’ve been carrying around in my head, but I still have nightmares. I still wake up in the middle of the night, sweaty and scared, and have to remind myself it’s not real. The thing is, she tells me that the nightmares may never go away. That it could take years to stop reacting to loud noises or scanning the ground for IEDs. And even though I haven’t seen you in a while, I’ll probably never stop mistaking strangers in crowds for you. It sucks, but I’m learning to deal.

 

                This passage is one of the only times Travis talks about his problems and its significant because it shows character progression but also shows the writing style and how the reader really gets to get inside the head of a PTSD victim . I would love to read more books by this author because I like the fact that I can relate with the character and put myself in their shoes. It paints a vivid picture in my head of what’s happening.