Cleveland, Ohio, 2003. A young man is just a college freshman when he meets Emily. They share a passion for Edward Albee and ecstasy and fall hard and fast in love. But soon Emily has to move home to Elba, New York, and he flunks out of school and joins the army. Desperate to keep their relationship alive, they marry before he ships out to Iraq. But as an army medic, he is unprepared for the grisly reality that awaits him. His fellow soldiers smoke; they huff computer duster; they take painkillers; they watch porn. And many of them die. He and Emily try to make their long-distance marriage work, but when he returns from Iraq, his PTSD is profound, and the drugs on the street have changed. The opioid crisis is beginning to swallow up the Midwest. Soon he is hooked on heroin, and so is Emily. They attempt a normal life, but with their money drying up, he turns to the one thing he thinks he could be really good at – robbing banks. Hammered out on a prison typewriter, Cherry marks the arrival of a raw, bleakly hilarious, and surprisingly poignant voice straight from the dark heart of America.
Publication Year: 2019
I'm not surprised he got PTSD from what I just read. Also it says this book is a work of fiction but it mustn't be far from the truth considering the author was in jail for bank robbery after being a medic in the army then leaving, developing PTSD, taking drugs and robbing banks. I think its just that it reads like he's recounting his memories but some of it is probably made up.
Your rating:
i would be lying if i said i read this book for any other reason besides the fact that tom holland is starring in the upcoming movie for it. i am desperately hoping the movie has actual substance, because the book does not. there is no real plot line, so much of the dialogue is pointless, and the book just feels like a multitude of randomly thrown together anecdotes. this was such a difficult read because of how much the story is lacking.