If you grew up in the 1960s, you will remember how heavily the War in Viet Nam weighed on our country's conscience. You may have known men-boys really-who came home changed in ways that left them unable to return to the life they once had. This is Arthur's coming of age story, a tale of youthful loves and loss, of failure, and the search for redemption that seems forever beyond reach. His words tell it best... How does a man recover from so much loss? How does he banish the ghosts he has carried with him for so many years? I have yet to find an answer. I came first to my small island that summer. I sought a peace that was beyond my grasp and knew instinctively I could only hope to find it in a wild place. I began writing, making more false starts than I can count, but if there is a way out, a way forward, I know it must be on the written page. This writing I do is not voluntary. I am drawn to it. In writing, I offer contrition and seek forgiveness that will not come. Faith would help, if I had any, but I left it in Viet Nam with my innocence. As I tell my story, I return, hoping to find it. Arthur Mac MacNeil