The Cost of Courage

by Kelly Estes

THE COST OF COURAGE is a work of military fiction based on the true story of two brothers who served in separate campaigns of WWII. After being shot down over Berlin, one brother is forced to endure both mental and physical torture as a POW at Stalag Luft III. As a defiant soul, he gains the respect of his comrades by making life difficult for his captors. However, things change after an ill-fated trip to solitary where it is revealed by another airman that his brother has died in the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo. Devastated, he struggles with the will to survive while reminiscing about his brother.

Genres: Fiction

220 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2012

Reviews

[Bill Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars is not enough for this book. It is a realistic account of the psychological aftermath of war and captivity yet somehow offers a very healing message for those who have served or lost loved ones in combat.
This book is the real thing and I would love to see it on the big screen. At the risk of sounding chauvinistic it is unbelievable that a 22 year old female could write about war with such vivid reality from the first page all the way to the end of the book where she mesmerizes you with a heart wrenching and as I have previously stated, healing message.
In her dedication page the author "dedicates this book to those serving - to those heroes who didn't come home - to those who did, whose lives are forever changed - and to their families, now struggling for answers."
In my humble opinion this author has given a wonderful gift to all through her writing. The Cost of Courage is truly amazing and has the capacity to help many people suffering with the psychological aftermath of war.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelly is a young author with a great future. Last month, I had the pleasure of meeting her and hearing something about her own story and inspiration. As a high school headmaster I very easily pick up on subtle indicators of a young or novice writer, and since she is young (23) I was very curious to see how she would voice wartime men of a past century. The story became so engrossing that I barely noticed a misplaced modern metaphor or two, and was impressed to find myself absorbed in the action.

I want to read it again with a more analytical eye, because there was something about the flow of the writing that "takes you there." War is not a fun topic, but you will find yourself wanting to read just one more chapter, even if you are in bed at the end of a long day.

[Howard Bernbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cost of Courage is a well written book that holds the reader to the written page. It brings the reader to the era of the great war and presents a picture of life at the time, the individuals feelings and the horrors of war. Human emotions are well expressed and the reader's ends up feeling as if he has lived through the life of Lt. Commander Charles Courtland and his son Brent, who grows up to become the captain of a submarine. The tragedy of his final assignment is an emotional issue and leaves the reader longing to learn what comes next in his life. A must read.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book directly from the author as the Independently Published Author coordinator at the bookstore. She was a delight to talk to and I told her I would read the book over the weekend. It was a well done look into the physical and psychological damage of war. As its goal is to be a realistic story it has swearing in it and things that are hard to read because they are so horrible. I think it would be appropriate and useful to high schoolers.

[James Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story that reveals the thoughts and feelings of an airman and how the war affected him. The story is told from the perspective of a boy who grew up on a farm in the mid-west and how the war changed him, especially seeing it as a POW. The author did a great job portraying the emotional impact of war.

[Luigi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK, I appreciate the reason it was written. It's more like a diary than a real work of fiction in my personal opinion. It seemed to lack true emotion even though it was all about emotion.