Customer Reviews

Blessings: Transforming My Vietnam Experience

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I couldn't put it down! The word "Vietnam" has meant little more to me than buff actors with atitude, this book changed that. It's not a blood and gore or look what America did to me, story. It's an appology and a promise to get over it. Anyone could relate this to the struggles in their own lives and learn how to turn them into something wonderful. This is so wonderfully written that I was able to empathize with this man rather than just have sympathy for him. I have given this to both male and female friends, everyone agrees, it's wonderful.

I am not a reader, you'll never find a romance novel in my presence, but I do like war stories. This is anything but, it is a story of a man's love for his family written in a way that would move the most manly of men. It is more of an appology to all of those who he hurt during his healing than a war story but it's written in an entertaining, "laugh while you cry", "I can relate to that", matter of fact manner. It's a must read for anyone and everyone. I have passed it around to friends who have passed it to friends, my copy has been in more homes than me because everyone loves it and relates to it in one way or another.

Don Yost, in Blessings, pulls you into his heart and holds you willingly captive on his journey of self-discovery. Through his first person narrative, he tells a profound story of innocence, disillusionment, and acceptance. His book is a reassuring tribute to all of us who have had "Vietnams" in our own lives.

Don Yost's book came to my attention as a result of the fact that he was one of my daughter's professors in college. I have this (really geeky) hobby of collecting books signed by the author, and this simply afforded me the opportunity to add to my collection. Of course, I usually read the books, but not always.

Well, last week I picked up "Blessings", and started reading it. I must say, I was VERY pleased with the investment of time. I was looking for a good war story, which is always made better when you know they're true. But in this case, I not only got the war story, but I got much more. Mr. Yost provides the reader with an insight into the issues surrounding veterans of the Vietnam War, but not those issues that are extreme and often overdramatized. Yost was a regular guy forced into an irregular situation, and he managed it well - or so he thought. His struggles in dealing with his Vietnam experience weren't crippling, or at least he didn't allow them to be. But they were significant, and his story is one that needs to be heard and learned from.

That was one of the more impressive aspects of the book - Yost takes his own challenges caused by Vietnam, and translates them into something we can all relate to. We all have challenges and struggles, but Yost's message is that we are able to not only overcome these struggles, but actually make them a source of strength and value. Good stuff.

I would afford Don Yost one of the greatest compliments I can give to an author - you really gave me something to think about. Thanks.

This is an excellent book for two reasons: its lively writing and its emotional impact. Don Yost gives life to many of the underlying frustrations of serving in Vietnam that most other books and essays about Vietnam haven't even identified. It also provides a superbly realistic look at the war through the eyes of someone who understands and appreciates the depth of the potential sacrifice that each man must face when he's called to serve, especially in a war that's misunderstood my most people, and bitterly opposed by his own generation.
When it comes to first-person accounts of the Vietnam war, this book is like no other. It's an excellent work that should be on everyone's bookshelf.