Michael Clark was an inquisitive, active boy—difficult for his mother, although he wasn’t a bad child. In this memoir, Clark begins by detailing his childhood growing up in the fifties and sixties in rural Michigan, where he built forts, became an Eagle Scout, and met his future wife. As the Vietnam War raged, when he turned eighteen, he eventually registered for the draft. In 1969, after his number was called, Clark details how life changed exponentially as he left his new bride behind and reported for duty amid violent protests and draft card burnings. As he narrates his experiences from basic training to his assignment to the army’s medical training center and finally his service in Vietnam, Clark provides a compelling glimpse into the emotional influences of war. In this engaging memoir, a Vietnam veteran chronicles his path before, during, and after war as he accepted his fate and learned to embrace the precious gift of life.