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MWSA Review
“Part of me needs you to know how we suffered, how I ached for years, needing to be appreciated, acknowledged, and simply recognized. I needed your sympathy and understanding.” Leland Austin Gagnebin’s Where the Light Enters: A Soldier’s Journey is by no means a typical Vietnam story. It is an inspiring memoir of his long, hard battle with the consequences of a war (still haunting a generation), long after the uniform gets hung up. Gagnebin describes Where the Light Enters as a collection of short pieces, but I beg to differ. The book is a cohesive, superbly written, smoothly flowing story of his Vietnam experience while assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Air Cavalry Platoon in 1969.
The book is not made up of blood and guts, but of guts of courage—and not just in the jungle, but also at home. “You’re never more alive than when you’re almost not.” Gagnebin shares the significance of the unique, powerful, combat-soldier bond: lifesaving in the field and severely underrated at home.
After struggling with PTSD for years (even though in the beginning there was not yet a name for it), he eventually opens up and asks for help. Through a now more compassionate VA, he works his way out of despair, anxiety, and depression. He bares his soul in this book, shedding light on epiphany after epiphany, with hopes that he can help others who also need to overcome any insidious, corrosive inner conflict.
On his journey to mental health, Gagnebin takes us on a cathartic pilgrimage to Vietnam—to the same locations—thirty-eight years later. He makes fresh healing memories, painstakingly, and successfully appreciates the beauty of the country.
If anyone in your life served in Vietnam, or suffers from PTSD from any cause, you must read this enlightening book.
Review by Sue Rushford (April 2023)
Author's Synopsis
So, who fits the soldier with the emotional and spiritual prosthesis? Where The Light Enters is a memoir about the impact the Vietnam war had on one soldier's life. It is a healing story, a spiritual journey, the path taken in search of redemption, reconciliation and reconnection. It is not a war story but rather a story of war. Through a collection of short pieces the author conveys the transformation from a loss of innocence and purity of heart, through the struggles endured as an Infantry Rifleman with the 101st Airborne Division during the historic Battle for Firebase Ripcord, the disillusionment, the betrayal, the loss of self, to what the author endured after returning home. It is about the path followed in pursuit of as full a measure of peace in life as might be possible, and encourages others to pursue theirs. Moreover, this memoir shines a light into the noble and heroic story of what heart and strength of character it takes for men who struggle through years against themselves and the intense, inner wound of PTSD and succeed. This memoir transcends the Vietnam war giving voice to all those struggling to put words to their own mental narratives. It further suggests a social prescription to assist reintegration into community. This finely crafted work has many layers - emotional, physical, behavioral, ethical, political, spiritual, the importance of family and the bonds with fellow soldiers - all woven artfully into the tapestry of the author's life story. Conveyed in a raw, straightforward presentation without being crass or superfluously graphic, its descriptions are vibrant and visual, drawing emotion from the reader. This memoir shines a ray of hope upon both veteran and non-veteran, anyone seeking redemption and forgiveness.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 434
Word Count: 131,165