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Mercy's First Semester
Raised in a deeply religious family, Mercy rebels against all rules during his teenage years. He stops attending church and drops out of high school. To avoid a destined path of self-destruction, Mercy enlists in the Army. After two combat tours, Mercy returns home battling PTSD. Trying to forget about the lives that he has taken and resume a "normal" life, Mercy returns to church. He enrolls in college and reconnects with a childhood crush. Mercy saved some of his men. Can he save himself?
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 22, 2016
28 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
W.M. Bunche
1 book24 followersW.M. Bunche is a decorated Cold War veteran. He attended public schools in Brooklyn. His military roots trace back to the Civil War. A wannabe athlete, he has completed the Marine Corps Marathon. He is a Columbia University honors graduate who lives in New York City with his family.
WM Bunche believes in serving and maximizing his 24 hours each day. He serves as a church leader, a mentor and a veteran’s advocate. Mercy's First Semester is his first book.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 24, 2018
This is a story that is set on different time lines. The first time that I met Mercy was at the end of the story, which you will have to read to find out about it. The time line then drops back to the Autumn of 2007 and a journal entry written by Mercy. A war is raging in Baghdad and Mercy and his fellow Infantry unit are smack bang in the middle of it. A quick reality check that does anything but glorify war. Then a dash back to present day.
The story pieces together Mercy’s life as a child and teenager that doesn’t sort of fit in at home, to life in the American army and two tours of duty, to discharge and suffering the effects of PTSD, to trying to fit back into life at home and joining college. The actual real-time is only roughly a semester the rest of the book is through Mercy’s journal and memories of how family and friends thought of him. Their personal relationship with Mercy and how knowing him affected their lives.
This is a brilliantly written novel as I just loved how the whole book came together. The stories of the different people were just perfect, as a father sees a son, as a teacher sees potential blooming and the army see a different side of him but I also saw how he sees things from his side, in his own mind. I loved his time in college and the writing course taught by Dr G. what a super character, if I could have signed up for his classes I would! It is here where a chunk of Mercy’s childhood is described.
This author is an artist of words because from the horrors of war to the aromas of the traditional dishes cooked by Mercy’s family, it all comes vividly alive! Every colour rich and every sound heard. It is so hard to believe that this is a debut novel. It isn’t about what a war does to a man as much as the battles he faces internally all his life to fit in, before and after his time in the army. Through his writing he can express himself, just brilliant.
The story pieces together Mercy’s life as a child and teenager that doesn’t sort of fit in at home, to life in the American army and two tours of duty, to discharge and suffering the effects of PTSD, to trying to fit back into life at home and joining college. The actual real-time is only roughly a semester the rest of the book is through Mercy’s journal and memories of how family and friends thought of him. Their personal relationship with Mercy and how knowing him affected their lives.
This is a brilliantly written novel as I just loved how the whole book came together. The stories of the different people were just perfect, as a father sees a son, as a teacher sees potential blooming and the army see a different side of him but I also saw how he sees things from his side, in his own mind. I loved his time in college and the writing course taught by Dr G. what a super character, if I could have signed up for his classes I would! It is here where a chunk of Mercy’s childhood is described.
This author is an artist of words because from the horrors of war to the aromas of the traditional dishes cooked by Mercy’s family, it all comes vividly alive! Every colour rich and every sound heard. It is so hard to believe that this is a debut novel. It isn’t about what a war does to a man as much as the battles he faces internally all his life to fit in, before and after his time in the army. Through his writing he can express himself, just brilliant.
July 7, 2017
Not a soppy ‘New Adult’ Varsity romance as the book title suggests – but an open-eyed look at a US war veteran, suddenly invalided out of active service and having to go back to college whilst dealing with PTSD when virtually everyone he meets has no idea what he’s going through. Now he has to learn how to ‘survive’ civilian life.
I really enjoyed this book. The premise is that Mercy joins a memoir writing course to bump up the classes he needs to take at college, and we learn of his early life and much of his military career through the assignments he has to write for his class. The tone is uneven, the past and present and military flashbacks tumble randomly around and then out of the blue the whole story suddenly goes oddly sideways before settling down again and finishes on an unexpectedly tense final denouement. There are some strange punctuation decisions. Conversations all run together, some with speech marks, some not, with more than one person speaking on the same line to the point that I had to read and re-read some paragraphs three times to work out who was saying what. But the over-all effect is rather convincing. It all reads exactly like a man learning to write and express himself for the first time and following a stream of consciousness. You feel like you really know the man and are rooting for him – that he’s a friend of yours too. It feels up close and personal. And when it gets random, it gets random in the way that all conversations between friends inevitably get late at night.
If any of you have ever read the Christian testimony book ‘Run Baby Run’ by Nicky Cruz, (about a Puerto Rican gang leader in one of the poorer neighbourhoods of New York who finally makes good through the grace of God) then in parts this book has the same tenor as that. In this story too, the hero’s soul is up for grabs. Everyone has been praying for him for so long, but how can he believe in God when God has let him down so often? How can he be comfortable in church when he’s killed so many times and when the church disapproves of his actions? He tells them that it’s only because men like him have fought for their country’s freedom that they can be free to worship here at home in their safe little churches. But he only feels truly comfortable with those who have been through the same active tours of duty as himself because they will be the only ones who know what it is like to repeatedly have to pull the trigger.
I am British, white, female and from a Quaker upbringing. (For that read, brought up in an almost militant pacifist family). The author is American, Black, male and from a four generations military family. But certainly I get it. I worked in Russia in trauma counselling of Chechnyan refugees. When I was growing up, virtually every older man in my own country had some level of PTSD due to the fact that they’d all been conscripted in the Second World War. Some of them had been unlucky enough to be just the wrong age and ended up fighting in both the first and second world wars. No-one had any help with it because everyone had gone through it. Stiff Upper Lip, Keep Calm, Drink Tea and Carry On, sort of thing. No counselling. As that generation got older and their brains got less elastic, they couldn’t suppress it any more. My elderly Uncle sat and wept and repeatedly said, ‘I saw her body parts all over the road – she was the only woman I’ve ever loved!’ (He’d arrived ten minutes early for a date with his fiancée in a basement nightclub in the Blitz in London. She’d arrived on time, just as the bomb fell. He was already sitting safely waiting for her inside but she was blown to pieces. His fault, he felt. He’d suggested the time and venue). An elderly man who resided in a care home where I worked at briefly was constantly reliving his time in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Something I’m guessing he never spoke of to anyone when he came home. Although he was over eighty, he’d regularly manage to escape from the care home and scale the high fences of the next door RAF base, and we’d be treated to the scene of fighter jets skidding to a halt while uniformed guys with Alsatians ran after him along the run-way trying to tackle him down. It must have confirmed all his worst memories. My mother, a child when the war started, was regularly left alone by her parents who went off down the pub, and she sat cowering under a table in the Blitz in London, with the doodlebugs dropping all around her. (You hear the engine cut out overhead, you hold your breath and count to ten. If you’re still alive at the number eleven and you hear a boom elsewhere then you’ll live another night). Forty-five years later, during our own childhood, she still regularly flipped out. She spent our whole childhood preparing us for the likelihood of sudden death.
But for those coming back from a war in a time of general peace, to a population who haven’t the foggiest what you’ve been through, it’s tough to even try to explain it. Especially when you don’t want to come over as whining about something that the general populace feels that you inflicted on yourself – after all, you joined the army voluntarily as a career. They have sympathy with the civilian victim of terrorist bombs, but not the returning soldier. It’s hard for that man or woman to find a safe space to discuss their traumatic experiences and find the necessary support, and wind down enough to have successful post-tour relationships. It’s hard enough to feel not enough of a ‘man’ by virtue of suffering from PTSD, without feeling like a failure in the Husband and Father department as well. So please try to show a bit of support to anyone you know returning from a war zone, whether they are soldier, medic, charity worker, chaplain or fleeing refugee. You can’t survive a constant sleep deprived state, 24/7 hyper-vigilance, threats, fear and bloody carnage without it impacting on your spirit, soul and body. And it doesn’t magically go away just because you’re technically safe now.
I really enjoyed this book. The premise is that Mercy joins a memoir writing course to bump up the classes he needs to take at college, and we learn of his early life and much of his military career through the assignments he has to write for his class. The tone is uneven, the past and present and military flashbacks tumble randomly around and then out of the blue the whole story suddenly goes oddly sideways before settling down again and finishes on an unexpectedly tense final denouement. There are some strange punctuation decisions. Conversations all run together, some with speech marks, some not, with more than one person speaking on the same line to the point that I had to read and re-read some paragraphs three times to work out who was saying what. But the over-all effect is rather convincing. It all reads exactly like a man learning to write and express himself for the first time and following a stream of consciousness. You feel like you really know the man and are rooting for him – that he’s a friend of yours too. It feels up close and personal. And when it gets random, it gets random in the way that all conversations between friends inevitably get late at night.
If any of you have ever read the Christian testimony book ‘Run Baby Run’ by Nicky Cruz, (about a Puerto Rican gang leader in one of the poorer neighbourhoods of New York who finally makes good through the grace of God) then in parts this book has the same tenor as that. In this story too, the hero’s soul is up for grabs. Everyone has been praying for him for so long, but how can he believe in God when God has let him down so often? How can he be comfortable in church when he’s killed so many times and when the church disapproves of his actions? He tells them that it’s only because men like him have fought for their country’s freedom that they can be free to worship here at home in their safe little churches. But he only feels truly comfortable with those who have been through the same active tours of duty as himself because they will be the only ones who know what it is like to repeatedly have to pull the trigger.
I am British, white, female and from a Quaker upbringing. (For that read, brought up in an almost militant pacifist family). The author is American, Black, male and from a four generations military family. But certainly I get it. I worked in Russia in trauma counselling of Chechnyan refugees. When I was growing up, virtually every older man in my own country had some level of PTSD due to the fact that they’d all been conscripted in the Second World War. Some of them had been unlucky enough to be just the wrong age and ended up fighting in both the first and second world wars. No-one had any help with it because everyone had gone through it. Stiff Upper Lip, Keep Calm, Drink Tea and Carry On, sort of thing. No counselling. As that generation got older and their brains got less elastic, they couldn’t suppress it any more. My elderly Uncle sat and wept and repeatedly said, ‘I saw her body parts all over the road – she was the only woman I’ve ever loved!’ (He’d arrived ten minutes early for a date with his fiancée in a basement nightclub in the Blitz in London. She’d arrived on time, just as the bomb fell. He was already sitting safely waiting for her inside but she was blown to pieces. His fault, he felt. He’d suggested the time and venue). An elderly man who resided in a care home where I worked at briefly was constantly reliving his time in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Something I’m guessing he never spoke of to anyone when he came home. Although he was over eighty, he’d regularly manage to escape from the care home and scale the high fences of the next door RAF base, and we’d be treated to the scene of fighter jets skidding to a halt while uniformed guys with Alsatians ran after him along the run-way trying to tackle him down. It must have confirmed all his worst memories. My mother, a child when the war started, was regularly left alone by her parents who went off down the pub, and she sat cowering under a table in the Blitz in London, with the doodlebugs dropping all around her. (You hear the engine cut out overhead, you hold your breath and count to ten. If you’re still alive at the number eleven and you hear a boom elsewhere then you’ll live another night). Forty-five years later, during our own childhood, she still regularly flipped out. She spent our whole childhood preparing us for the likelihood of sudden death.
But for those coming back from a war in a time of general peace, to a population who haven’t the foggiest what you’ve been through, it’s tough to even try to explain it. Especially when you don’t want to come over as whining about something that the general populace feels that you inflicted on yourself – after all, you joined the army voluntarily as a career. They have sympathy with the civilian victim of terrorist bombs, but not the returning soldier. It’s hard for that man or woman to find a safe space to discuss their traumatic experiences and find the necessary support, and wind down enough to have successful post-tour relationships. It’s hard enough to feel not enough of a ‘man’ by virtue of suffering from PTSD, without feeling like a failure in the Husband and Father department as well. So please try to show a bit of support to anyone you know returning from a war zone, whether they are soldier, medic, charity worker, chaplain or fleeing refugee. You can’t survive a constant sleep deprived state, 24/7 hyper-vigilance, threats, fear and bloody carnage without it impacting on your spirit, soul and body. And it doesn’t magically go away just because you’re technically safe now.
September 22, 2017
I would like to preface this review by telling you that I read this book twice. It was good, very good in fact, and it is profoundly relevant to the world in which we live. It is a book that gave me an expectation, and then completely blew me away by the experience it took me on. The book opens with the people who love our hero, Mercy, who are reminiscing about their experiences with him. I expected this to be a story about a troubled man finding his salvation, and in some ways that is exactly what I got, but there was more. So much more.
W.M. Bunche tells the story of a young man, home after two tours as a Cavalry Scout in Iraq, Joshua Mercier, "Mercy." Mercy is intelligent, passionate, complex. He suffers with PTSD and as part of his therapy he is encouraged to take a writing class at a local college. Much of the story is told through Mercy's writings for a creative writing class. Although the timeframe of the book actually lasts for only a period of months, just a little more than a college semester, the story that is told goes far back into Mercy's childhood. We are with Mercy in Iraq, we know the people he knows and I feel a little PTSD for having walked with him through it. This book reads as an honest compilation of a life. I want Mercy to survive, I want him to succeed at finding the answers he needs, even as I understand that his psyche is fragmented, even as I understand that the there are no magic buttons. I desperately wanted to press one for him.
I don't want to give away how the beginning comes to the end, because it's a journey everyone should take, with an honest and open mind. I was heartbroken at times, as this novel unfolded, and Mercy felt every bit as real to me as if I had grown up with him down the road. This is not your typical war story, it's not your typical recovery story, it's not your typical reminiscent story. There is nothing at typical about this book. It is a book that should not be overlooked.
W.M. Bunche tells the story of a young man, home after two tours as a Cavalry Scout in Iraq, Joshua Mercier, "Mercy." Mercy is intelligent, passionate, complex. He suffers with PTSD and as part of his therapy he is encouraged to take a writing class at a local college. Much of the story is told through Mercy's writings for a creative writing class. Although the timeframe of the book actually lasts for only a period of months, just a little more than a college semester, the story that is told goes far back into Mercy's childhood. We are with Mercy in Iraq, we know the people he knows and I feel a little PTSD for having walked with him through it. This book reads as an honest compilation of a life. I want Mercy to survive, I want him to succeed at finding the answers he needs, even as I understand that his psyche is fragmented, even as I understand that the there are no magic buttons. I desperately wanted to press one for him.
I don't want to give away how the beginning comes to the end, because it's a journey everyone should take, with an honest and open mind. I was heartbroken at times, as this novel unfolded, and Mercy felt every bit as real to me as if I had grown up with him down the road. This is not your typical war story, it's not your typical recovery story, it's not your typical reminiscent story. There is nothing at typical about this book. It is a book that should not be overlooked.
December 5, 2016
Mercy’s journey back to ‘normal’ will not be easy. After years in the military, Mercy returns home to Brooklyn, New York to resume his education, to become a family man, and to—somehow—cope with all the things he did during his military service in the name of the country he loves.
The story was about so much more than I thought it would be. It had a richness and a depth that surprised me. The author’s voice is unique, interesting, and refreshing.
The story was about so much more than I thought it would be. It had a richness and a depth that surprised me. The author’s voice is unique, interesting, and refreshing.
May 2, 2018
Well written book that will appeal to many types of readers. I particularly think this book will resonate with men and others who have been in the military, especially those who have seen combat and know its effects. I've read quite a few books that feature PTSD as an element, and this one has a much more thoughtful, heartfelt presentation than I have previously seen. It shows the background events that led up to Mercy and his fellow soldiers' present day states of mind, and then shows how that manifests in each of their lives. I became invested in the characters and came to really care about what happened to them. There's more to this than just a military story though, and to take it as that is to be missing more. It's also a story about family. About race, more specifically, about our origins and how that background shapes our lives. And it's also a book about never giving up on yourself.
The dialogue is a bit stilted at times, but it's easy to read and flows very quickly.
One warning to Christian fiction readers--although this book has many meaningful faith elements and messages, there are some edgier portions of this book that include sexual activity outside of marriage and some frank descriptions of things. Readers offended by those things should probably steer clear from this book.
Bottom Line: This isn't a book I probably would have picked up on my own, but I'm thankful to have read it. I have great respect for those who serve and have served in our military, and learning more about those experiences makes me even more thankful and grateful.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
The dialogue is a bit stilted at times, but it's easy to read and flows very quickly.
One warning to Christian fiction readers--although this book has many meaningful faith elements and messages, there are some edgier portions of this book that include sexual activity outside of marriage and some frank descriptions of things. Readers offended by those things should probably steer clear from this book.
Bottom Line: This isn't a book I probably would have picked up on my own, but I'm thankful to have read it. I have great respect for those who serve and have served in our military, and learning more about those experiences makes me even more thankful and grateful.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
December 31, 2016
I really enjoyed reading this book. It provided such a unique perspective of a person bred for battle entering civilian life, fighting demons, and the amount of courage and work it takes to deal with them. The pictures painted were so clear, I could see the people as if I were looking straight at them and had a difficult time differentiating between fact and fiction. I'm not heavy into reading, but I couldn't stop flipping pages. It took me about a day to get through it all. I highly recommend this book.
December 27, 2018
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Don’t be fooled by the cutesy romance-looking cover! Mercy’s First Semester is not a college romance, but a gritty look at war and how its after-effects continue to bleed into civilian life long after the supposed ‘return to normality’. Mercy is Joshua Mercier, a Cavalry Scout who has been medically discharged and is trying to piece together a life in peacetime. He originally joined the Army to keep himself out of neighbourhood trouble, and now turns to God and to the writing of his wartime memoir to find a new purpose in life.
Bunche examines the dichotomy that the skills that make someone an exemplary soldier in wartime may fit them for greater struggle to integrate in general society, and also that there may be greater wars than those fought on the battlefield – the Black Lives Matter movement features integrally and really helps to drive home that message, along with a serious running message about the struggle of life and the random inevitability of death.
The timeline moves around quite a bit from present to past and back, and a fairly large plot point is therefore revealed very early in the novel. Some may find the back and forth confusing (although the author does helpfully orient us using the chapter headers), but personally I quite enjoyed the feeling of an immersion in Mercy’s memories. It gave me a feeling of sharing his experiences as the memories flit through his mind, with random associations sending him off into different reminiscences.
There is an interesting sub-theme about the nature of storytelling and creative writing. How much of what we are reading is fictionalised or exaggerated for narrative effect as Mercy refines his memoir writing technique? Trick question! It’s all fiction as the memoir is within this novel. But the author, W. M. Bunche has relevant combat experience of his own… I really enjoyed this meta-writing that worked at different levels.
Whilst clearly a Christian book, featuring a religious central character, I did not find that this aspect was overly intrusive to the plot, which focused more on the search for meaning in this life.
Mercy’s First Semester is an interesting insight into war, but more so into the challenges facing a veteran in the civilian life that follows.
Joshua Toussaint Mercier (aka Mercy) remembered the golden hour. The critical life saving hour following a traumatic injury. With proper medical treatment, there is a great possibility of survival. Without proper medical treatment, Taps. He remembered the roar of the medvac chopper’s blades rotating overhead, kicking up desert dust. His bullet ridden body lay on a gurney. It was shuffled onto the chopper by four armed soldiers. He never thought he would be the patient. He thought he would die by bullet or bomb, not feeling a thing. He would awaken when Jesus resurrected him.
– W. M. Bunche, Mercy’s First Semester
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
Don’t be fooled by the cutesy romance-looking cover! Mercy’s First Semester is not a college romance, but a gritty look at war and how its after-effects continue to bleed into civilian life long after the supposed ‘return to normality’. Mercy is Joshua Mercier, a Cavalry Scout who has been medically discharged and is trying to piece together a life in peacetime. He originally joined the Army to keep himself out of neighbourhood trouble, and now turns to God and to the writing of his wartime memoir to find a new purpose in life.
Bunche examines the dichotomy that the skills that make someone an exemplary soldier in wartime may fit them for greater struggle to integrate in general society, and also that there may be greater wars than those fought on the battlefield – the Black Lives Matter movement features integrally and really helps to drive home that message, along with a serious running message about the struggle of life and the random inevitability of death.
The timeline moves around quite a bit from present to past and back, and a fairly large plot point is therefore revealed very early in the novel. Some may find the back and forth confusing (although the author does helpfully orient us using the chapter headers), but personally I quite enjoyed the feeling of an immersion in Mercy’s memories. It gave me a feeling of sharing his experiences as the memories flit through his mind, with random associations sending him off into different reminiscences.
There is an interesting sub-theme about the nature of storytelling and creative writing. How much of what we are reading is fictionalised or exaggerated for narrative effect as Mercy refines his memoir writing technique? Trick question! It’s all fiction as the memoir is within this novel. But the author, W. M. Bunche has relevant combat experience of his own… I really enjoyed this meta-writing that worked at different levels.
Whilst clearly a Christian book, featuring a religious central character, I did not find that this aspect was overly intrusive to the plot, which focused more on the search for meaning in this life.
Mercy’s First Semester is an interesting insight into war, but more so into the challenges facing a veteran in the civilian life that follows.
Joshua Toussaint Mercier (aka Mercy) remembered the golden hour. The critical life saving hour following a traumatic injury. With proper medical treatment, there is a great possibility of survival. Without proper medical treatment, Taps. He remembered the roar of the medvac chopper’s blades rotating overhead, kicking up desert dust. His bullet ridden body lay on a gurney. It was shuffled onto the chopper by four armed soldiers. He never thought he would be the patient. He thought he would die by bullet or bomb, not feeling a thing. He would awaken when Jesus resurrected him.
– W. M. Bunche, Mercy’s First Semester
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
June 22, 2018
Mercy is a haunted man. Having grown up with a stepfather that was verbally abusive and running the streets, he realizes he's on a dead end path and enrolls in the army. After 20 years of service, we start our story. Told through the present, past, and journal entries, we learn of Mercy's struggles, of the kinship he has with fellow service members, his quest to further himself and not always be "the angry guy".
He puts himself in therapy and enrolls himself in college. We also are able to read some of the works Mercy submitted for his Creative Writing course, which furthers the storyline along. In life there is loss, and Mercy has experienced his fair share of it. It never gets any easier.
Because Mercy has PTSD, which affects so many service members and civilians, it's an epidemic that needs to be addressed. I greatly appreciate that Bunche took the time to research and write about PTSD. Mercy's First Semester was well-written, it was engaging and well researched. It had hard-hitting moments and tender ones. Bunche did well, it was a great pleasure to read.
He puts himself in therapy and enrolls himself in college. We also are able to read some of the works Mercy submitted for his Creative Writing course, which furthers the storyline along. In life there is loss, and Mercy has experienced his fair share of it. It never gets any easier.
Because Mercy has PTSD, which affects so many service members and civilians, it's an epidemic that needs to be addressed. I greatly appreciate that Bunche took the time to research and write about PTSD. Mercy's First Semester was well-written, it was engaging and well researched. It had hard-hitting moments and tender ones. Bunche did well, it was a great pleasure to read.
November 7, 2017
This is so realisticthat it has reasons to both love and hate. The settings bounce from place to place and from time to time. Multiple stories all come together in the end and by paying attention to the beginnng of the story you wilo know how it sadly ends.
April 3, 2018
A fast-paced read that captures your interest on the 1st page
August 14, 2018
We are proud to announce that MERCY'S FIRST SEMESTER by W.M. Bunche is a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree. This tells readers that this book is well worth their time and money!
February 12, 2017
Highly recommend
Well written, great characters. A page turner. Mr. Bunche, hope your second novel is on the horizon. Really enjoyed it!
Well written, great characters. A page turner. Mr. Bunche, hope your second novel is on the horizon. Really enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews