MWSA Review

Juan Manuel Perez shows us why he was selected as Poet Laureate for Corpus Christi in his book Thirty Years Ago: Life and the First Gulf War. In this collection of fifty poems, author Perez writes a memoir-in-verse remembering his deployment to the war. As a medic, he saw the horrors of war firsthand. He didn't need to go looking for them; they were brought to him. From a transport plane that nearly crashes on top of his tent to routine combat, the memories of those injured and dying souls still haunt him. In addition to the violence of war, the sadness and separation from family affected him and the others around him. This book is a very good read. It had me hooked from the first poem.

Review by Bob Doerr (April 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

Thirty Years Ago: Life and the First Gulf War by Juan Manuel Pérez (“Doc”) is a fifty-sonnet, autobiographical recollection of memories and thoughts about serving in the First Gulf War in 1990 to 1991, otherwise known as Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm/Desert Calm, as a Navy Corpsman in a Marine Corps Battalion while earning the title of “DEVIL DOC.” It is also about life after that, especially thoughts coming back to haunt the now veteran severely during the isolating time of the COVID-19 pandemic in conjunction with the Thirty-Year Anniversary of that same war, causing spikes in his PTSD and recurring nightmares. The author’s hope for this book is to let others continue to see that they are not alone in the silent suffering that goes with serving our country, especially in war or in any other event that may lead to PTSD. He hopes they can see that by continuing to talk or write about it, that it can become an integral part of the healing process, even if we can’t get the events out of our minds. This fast-paced, easy-to-read memoir-in-verse is in fact a first-person, oral account of one of America’s last global conflicts of the 20th century. This book will prove to be a great addition to your reading selections whether you are a poetry lover or a student of history. This book will surely become a supplemental college reading text in the study of the human cost of America’s involvement in modern day global conflicts.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book

Number of Pages: 77

Word Count: 7,724