“And how does a soldier come home from war, really? As a nation, these are questions we need to ask ourselves.”

In his opening statements, attorney Michael Zarkades eloquently establishes the premise of his PTSD defense in the case of an Iraq veteran charged with killing his wife.

Yet Kristin Hannah’s heart-wrenching “Home Front” isn’t a legal thriller. It is a starkly emotional look at the toll war extracts from an ordinary family.

Michael’s wife Jolene, is a Reserve Army helicopter pilot, the mother of two girls, 12-year-old Betsy and 4-year-old Lulu, lifelong best friend of fellow pilot Tami and adoring daughter-in-law of Mira.

Hannah’s ability to immediately connect us with Jolene’s distinctive relationships with each of them pulls us into her seemingly normal existence in a picturesque Washington seaside community. The only blemish on that existence is a growing distance with her husband, a workaholic lawyer, still grieving for his father.

Michael has never supported or understood Jolene’s pride and commitment to her military family. When she and Tami’s unit is deployed to Iraq in the spring of 2005, that resentment multiplies. When she comes home mentally and physically scarred by the battlefield, picking up the pieces will be an agonizing process for everybody.

In telling the story of Michael and Jolene. And Betsy and Lulu. And Tami’s family. Hannah is giving us a glimpse into the sacrifices made by soldiers and their families today. Whether we want to know or not.

Be prepared for soul-searching. Be prepared to be sympathetic, frustrated, angry and proud. Be prepared with a box of Kleenex.