Philip Sharp's Blog, page 2
June 21, 2012
Q & A With The Author
Posted in Uncategorized
Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire painfully records the daily life and events of B Company, 4-31 Infantry in the Triangle of Death from 2006 to 2007. The author provides a rare glimpse into the existence of your average combat soldier and the conditions that they operated under. The book plainly reveals what the sacrifice was when one thanks them for it.
Q: Welcome Philip, and thanks for taking the time for this interview. Tell me, where does your story begin?
It begins with my unit’s deployment to Iraq in August 2006 into the area known as the Triangle of Death.
Q: So this is your first-hand account. What events are covered in the book?
All of it! Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire is primarily based on my journal I kept from 2006 to 2007 and covers our 15 month deployment.
Q: What do you expect your readers to get from reading this book?
They will catch a glimpse of what combat soldiers endured and their daily lives in Iraq. It was a brutal time that took its toll on us and pushed us beyond our limits. Every one of us paid a cost to do what we had to do over there and often we still bear it. In short, I put my heart and tears into writing this book. I want to break the heart and summon the tears of all who read it.
Q: The Triangle of Death was certainly known as one of the roughest areas in Iraq at the time. What helped you get through that deployment and allowed you to keep going?
Above all else my faith in God got me through those rough times. Also just hanging on and hoping to see my wife and children again gave me something physically tangible on earth to look forward to. Beyond that I attribute the rest to pure apathetic fatalism and going on day by day.
Q: When you went through your journal again, what things stuck out that you perhaps missed when you wrote it the first time?
What stuck out was how angry I was all through it. There were things I would remember as I read and it would bring up old emotions as if they never healed. It made writing the book longer than it should have.
Q: You say it made writing the book take longer. Can you explain?
Yes. As I read my journal I relived the deployment over again. At times I would utterly stop because I no longer desired to continue, only to force myself to pick back it up again later. For a book that was already was half written, it took longer that it probably should have.
Q: What would you say to other service members as well as their families and friends about this book?
I would tell them that I kept this story as real as possible. I believe soldiers who have been in similar circumstances will appreciate having their world brought to light, perhaps in a way that they may not be able to tell others themselves. Their families and friends will get to see some of what their soldier has been through and better understand and overcome the silence that often accompanies this subject when it comes up.
Q: Do you feel that the experience of those who have deployed is often not heard?
In a way yes, but not intentionally.
Q: What do you mean?
It all comes down to being able to identify with what someone is saying. Most civilians cannot really fathom what their soldier is telling them. A soldier will quickly realize that they will not be understood and learns to just be silent about it. The civilian assumes that their soldier just wants to be quiet and doesn’t bring it up. It is the making of most misunderstandings between our civilians and their military.
Q: I understand that you wish to donate all profits from royalties to charities, especially ones working with the military. What compels you to do that and which charities?
Yes, I will donate ALL profit from royalties to charities because I cannot in my conscience accept pay for writing a story that was built on the suffering of so many people. I will donate to charities that support wounded soldiers, the psychological welfare of soldiers, and aid work in Iraq.
Q: Well Philip, thank you so much for your time about your book Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire. How can people find out more about the book and when it comes out?
Thanks for having me. You can find out more on the website: www.windearthquakefire.com. In fact you can register to win a free copy of the book and a poster. Whether you win or not you will receive a discount code for a purchase.
