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Where is Ser
A powerful story as seen through the eyes of an American veteran who in 2016 during the bloody civil war with ISIS flew alone to Iraq.
There, he was able to join the Kurdish militia, YPG as a combat medic sneaking into Rojava, Syria. These pages are his personal story and they take you to the front lines of battle in a way that will make you smell the dirt.
This book tears away the thin veil of war in a terrifyingly haunting way.
“I, River Rainbow O'Mahoney Hagg Tekoser Azad, just a name only. A shadow who never honestly looked at myself. Never knew myself and so I died alone and ignorant. Buried alive in Manbij, Syria, like so many before me and so many more to come. "Why now? Please?" There is a deep sadness in realizing I had wasted my whole life not getting to know me before there was no me. Too late! A deep and penetrating sadness of all I wasted when I thought I had all the time in the world and I did not. So, like an idiot, I danced right up to the edge of the end without ever even knowing it.”
“This is the place where the disappeared aren't missing.”
There, he was able to join the Kurdish militia, YPG as a combat medic sneaking into Rojava, Syria. These pages are his personal story and they take you to the front lines of battle in a way that will make you smell the dirt.
This book tears away the thin veil of war in a terrifyingly haunting way.
“I, River Rainbow O'Mahoney Hagg Tekoser Azad, just a name only. A shadow who never honestly looked at myself. Never knew myself and so I died alone and ignorant. Buried alive in Manbij, Syria, like so many before me and so many more to come. "Why now? Please?" There is a deep sadness in realizing I had wasted my whole life not getting to know me before there was no me. Too late! A deep and penetrating sadness of all I wasted when I thought I had all the time in the world and I did not. So, like an idiot, I danced right up to the edge of the end without ever even knowing it.”
“This is the place where the disappeared aren't missing.”
263 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 7, 2022
22 people are currently reading
452 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 16, 2023
Set during the most tumultuous and critical phase of the war against ISIS, Where Is Ser tells the story of an American combat veteran who sacrificed his happy, peaceful existence to serve in the foreign volunteers unit of the Kurdish YPG. This book is very much told in the style of a traditional war memoir, but what really sets it apart is twofold. First, even for readers who might be already familiar with some aspects of the war against ISIS, this book really conveys the immense chaos of urban combat and the indescribable horrors of war from a ground-level perspective, under the constant strain of RPGs, car bombs, and even tanks. Second, the entire story is delivered from the fascinating perspective of an outsider – or rather an American who had to overcome cultural and linguistic barriers while serving as a combat medic on the front line against ISIS.
I have just two small criticisms with the book. My first criticism is that some details of the story seem to be glossed over without much explanation, for example how the author came to inhabit an Iraqi prison while leaving the country. My second criticism involves a very small part of the book in which he blames the Sykes-Picot agreement for the ethnic and religious strife in the region. Sykes-Picot didn’t technically establish the modern borders of the Middle East (that came later). But my wider point is that colonialism alone, though terrible for other reasons, cannot be entirely blamed as the proximate cause of the region’s problems, which lay somewhere deeper and altogether more intransigent. Borders themselves are artificial constructs and contain within them multitudes of ethnic and religious diversity that can’t be easily separated, and any suggestion to do so would be deeply problematic. For example, the suggestion of dividing Iraq into neater regions was dismissed on the grounds that it would prove impossible to reasonably carry it out. It would also encourage tension between states and not just within them. However, I do agree with the notion that the Kurds deserve their own state (but Turkey is the main obstacle to that).
I have just two small criticisms with the book. My first criticism is that some details of the story seem to be glossed over without much explanation, for example how the author came to inhabit an Iraqi prison while leaving the country. My second criticism involves a very small part of the book in which he blames the Sykes-Picot agreement for the ethnic and religious strife in the region. Sykes-Picot didn’t technically establish the modern borders of the Middle East (that came later). But my wider point is that colonialism alone, though terrible for other reasons, cannot be entirely blamed as the proximate cause of the region’s problems, which lay somewhere deeper and altogether more intransigent. Borders themselves are artificial constructs and contain within them multitudes of ethnic and religious diversity that can’t be easily separated, and any suggestion to do so would be deeply problematic. For example, the suggestion of dividing Iraq into neater regions was dismissed on the grounds that it would prove impossible to reasonably carry it out. It would also encourage tension between states and not just within them. However, I do agree with the notion that the Kurds deserve their own state (but Turkey is the main obstacle to that).
January 28, 2023
This was both an amazing and shocking read.i thought the author did a brilliant job at getting his story across im such an amazing and interesting way. It was very well written, but I thought it could of done without the sound words, but that was only a little point. Then again if like me you read your books using text to speech its father funny listening to all the onomatopoeia spoken out loud. It was rather shocking learning about his younger years. Then, moving to seria and what happened next made for some fascinating reading. It was definitely a high paced, fast flowing story that had me on the edge of my seat. So many emotions were felt when reading this book. Which is the best feature for me in books. It really does portray what life is like during war.i really can't recommend this book enough. Especially if you love war stories. This book had me totally engrossed, and I just couldn't put it down. In fact I finished it in a morning. I am actually gutted. I missed the publication date on this book as it was amazing, and I have had to wait to read such a powerful account of life fighting in the war.
Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this very emotional account of war. I can not thank the author enough for his service in trying to stop terrorism. I would definitely read more from this author.
Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this very emotional account of war. I can not thank the author enough for his service in trying to stop terrorism. I would definitely read more from this author.
June 14, 2022
A story of War!
I really had no idea about this book but being curious. I have read a lot of books about war and I have to say this was by far one of the best. It was real and you felt like a part of it!
I really had no idea about this book but being curious. I have read a lot of books about war and I have to say this was by far one of the best. It was real and you felt like a part of it!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews