This is one of those books that everyone should read. It is a hard book to read because of the subject matter, but we owe it to our soldiers. It tells the stories of different young Americans who decide to go into military service. It gives short snippets of their lives before this decision and continues to describe some of their service. What makes it really hit home are the photographs. These pictures also tell their story in a most unique way, as you can see the love of life and also the love they held for their job. What a better country this is for having had them. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for this special read.

Ron Farina's Sacrifice relays a series of deeply intimate vignettes surrounding the titular theme, sacrifice. Each is from a different perspective with different central figures, but they all carry a sense of reverence and empathy for the loss and pain experienced. While the grief is set within the military community and amongst those who are adjacent, the feelings are universal. Any reader can relate who has lost a loved one, a sense of innocence, or a sense of security.
He handles the delicate subject of war casualties with neither trumpeting performative patriotism nor cloying sentimentality. The deaths of men and women in combat are the very visceral, raw, ugly consequences of war, and Farina treat the subject with the respect it deserves. If, at any time, we were at risk of forgetting the enormity of the impact of their sacrifice, it would be a good idea to reread this book.
Farina's writing is entrancing and compelling. It moves along like a river moves toward the sea--naturally, unselfconciously, and with a deceptive amount of force. I read the entire book from start to finish without putting it down. I enjoyed it so much, I am going to search out his other works and read those as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read these moving words.

I haven't read the book yet, but I wanted to rate it what I think the book will be and when i'm finished i'll be able to see if my first impressions of the book were correct.

5⭐

I've looked at the first full pages and I don't see how this book won't be meaningful. I like to read about the military foreign and domestic, this book seems right up my street.