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MWSA Review
Issued: Stories of Service, Volume 2, is a moving book with a diverse collection of prose, poems, interviews, and artwork. Sponsored by the Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement at Arizona State University and edited by a group of six, this collection weaves together the written perspectives of a group of veterans and family members throughout the United States.
This collection provides a glimpse into what it means to serve one’s country—from the perspective of those who served as well as their family members and caregivers. Within these pages, you’ll find a wide variety of emotions. Some pieces are humorous, while others are gut-wrenchingly personal. Fear, camaraderie, loss, and resilience are all explored. The searing honesty of these narratives is both moving and enlightening.
I recommend Issued to those who are interested in hearing the authentic voices of our nation’s veterans or family members.
Review by Jim Tritten (February 2025)
Author's Synopsis
Launched in May 2023 with sponsorship from the Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement at Arizona State University, ISSUED is an annual literary journal that showcases the stories of active-duty, veterans, and their family members—specifically, poetry and flash prose that expresses the spectrum of experiences within military life, including gender and sexuality, BIPOC voices, physical and mental health, combat, enlisting and separating, family and relationships, and reintegration into society.
Because we pride ourselves on both our national readership and community ethos, ISSUED also features profiles of veterans who are doing extraordinary work in their communities, whether it be through the arts, education, mental health, or advocacy. In other words, we’re a journal with a broad military-affiliated audience, not just a strictly literary one.
At ISSUED, we also believe in the healing power of narrative medicine, and according to studies, when veterans read or write about service, they have better health outcomes. Thus, we hope that ISSUED will serve as a resource for veterans’ writing circles, discussion groups, treks, etc., i.e. be used to facilitate a heathier veteran community.
Format(s) for review: Paper Only
Review Genre: Other—Anthology/Collection
Number of Pages: 114
Word Count: 21120
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