Geometry of Fire

by Paul Warmbier

In 2003, newly minted Private First Class Paul Warmbier left behind the world he knew for something much more complicated. At 17, Paul signed up for a wartime adventure with the Marine Corps infantry, leaving his home in the Idaho mountains for that of the first the Mohave in California, then to Iraq, where his first exposure to genuinely complicated causes and effects caused his mindset and world to shift.
In this terrifyingly honest account of PTSD and trauma, Paul sees himself stepping in the sands of history, the same sands walked on by Gilgamesh, Alexander the Great, and other conquerors who met and battled with themselves in the vast desert beauty.
Upon returning from war and just out of the Marines, Paul found himself lost, totally alone in his head but surrounded by those who loved him. Through flashbacks and therapy sessions, we rid ourselves of the exciting gunslinging stories that are usually told, for those that are raw, intense, and deeply problematic, all in the attempt to understand how one can regain love of self and personal identity after war ripped it all away.

302 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2020

Reviews

[Karole Pickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional roller coaster of a read. Very raw and real in the story it tells. Paul really shared his soul with us in his book. Very well written and a book for the times for sure.

[Jenna Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a millennial, I am, in a way, haunted by 9/11, the Iraqi War, and the choices America made in their aftermath. My adolescence and early adulthood were consumed with issues of national security. The small town I went to high school in lost Branden Ramey, a varsity athlete with movie star good looks, the year I graduated, and he became an instant hometown hero and legend. His fiance, who graduated in my class, told people that they were engaged when he was killed in Iraq but there was no evidence of that, and so the rumor was that she made it up. Townies still discuss it.

I recount this because Paul's account of his deployments to Iraq is a story of personal consequence and fascination for me and many in my generation. I continue to learn more about what was happening in the Middle East when I was just an ignorant high schooler, thanks in large part to other millennials who are now brave enough to start writing and publishing their Iraq War stories.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir of a Marine and his deployments in Iraq, and the therapy that helped him through the effects. This is a good, though difficult, read, and valuable for those who have been through similar trauma, struggling with the idea of therapy, as well as for all of us struggling to understand the difficulties our veterans face.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it! It was very difficult to ready and heavy but the author has such an incredible gift for writing about hard things in a beautiful, raw way, with honesty.