Oblique Journeys
This novel takes us deep into the scars left by a war that tore the United States apart in the 1960s and early 1970s, a conflict that left an indelible mark on the youth who came of age in that turbulent era. While a work of fiction, the narrative touches upon the real emotions and struggles that many young people endured as they fought to make sense out of competing claims upon their loyalty and to satisfy the dictates of their torn consciences. This was a time when easy answers were not available, where each young man and woman who cared about this country had to arrive at their own interpretation of events and choose which path in life to follow. Each had to decide the contours of their individual characters and for which principles they would stand. In the end, each had to articulate their own moral compass. As explored in this work, choices can have deep and enduring consequences.
Oblique Journeys is the story of one young man who came of age in the turbulent 1960s as he journeyed from exile and isolation to reconnect and embrace, if possible, with a life he long thought lost. Over the period of one week, Joshua Connelly seeks to come to terms with his estranged sister Rachel, with comrades long abandoned, with his authentic self, and with a past he tried to ignore but ultimately could not. In the end, it is a compelling story of the invisible and neglected victims of war.