The Heart You Carry Home

In a powerful novel about soldiers returning from war, Miller shows that sometimes the worst wounds of war are the ones not visible from the outside. After Becca's troubled husband, Ben, returns from a second tour in Iraq and attacks her in his sleep, she runs to her father, Vietnam veteran King, for solace and advice. King's carrying his own deep scars from his tours of duty that destroyed his marriage to Becca's mother. When King and several fellow veterans head west to visit their ailing%E2%80%94and certifiably insane%E2%80%94former commanding officer, Becca tags along and learns more than she bargained for. The commanding officer calls himself the ruler of Kleos, a desert commune that one character terms "the heart of darkness." On the journey, Becca learns about her father's wounds, and shares her own%E2%80%94and upon arriving at Kleos, she comes face to face with her estranged husband. Miller's vivid characters illustrate the emotional and physical damages brought home by returning veterans, forcing the reader into harrowing, moving places. This novel will haunt readers long after the final page is turned. (Nov.)