Casualties

“How do you survive the unendurable? Marro's gorgeous debut is about war, grief, guilt, and grappling with the truths you don't expect, and finally taking the risk and acknowledging the ones that you do. Moving and full of heart.”

—Caroline Leavitt,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Is This Tomorrow
and
Pictures of You

“With its gripping plot and seasoned prose, it is hard to imagine that
Casualties
is Elizabeth Marro's debut novel. She writes of a mother's worst nightmare, and offers no easy answers. By the end of her novel we care for her characters, and hope that each can find the elusive redemption they so desire.”

—Alan Russell, bestselling author of
Burning Man

“Conflicting human needs, difficult choices, missed opportunities, and the random luck of the draw challenge the true-to-life, complicated characters in Elizabeth Marro's page-turning novel. This is an important story set against the drama of today's volatile world that asks moral questions yet, ultimately, resides in the heart.”

—Judy Reeves, author of
Wild Women, Wild Voices

“There's an emotional jolt early in the pages of Elizabeth Marro's debut novel,
Casualties,
that reminds us not all battle scars start on the battlefield. The bell-like tolls of this tragic event will reverberate throughout the rest of this heartbreaking novel as Ruth and Casey, two strangers broken by grief and regret, reluctantly join together on a cross-country road trip. Elizabeth Marro made me care about these two people so much that by the end of the novel I'd forgotten they were fictional characters, and I was ready to call them up to see how they were doing and if they'd finally found their way toward peace and forgiveness.”

—David Abrams, author of
Fobbit

“Marro's debut novel is a gritty tragedy that unrelentingly addresses painful issues of war, suicide, and the shady dealings of defense contractors . . . Through her characters' soul-searching and self-discovery, Marro provides a clear sense that, while the past can't be undone, the future always offers a chance to make amends, and the human spirit can triumph over pain and find hope in family and forgiveness. This is a tortured novel and yet a redemptive one. It isn't a happily-ever-after story, but Marro casts a ray of hope that a good life can be lived after terrible tragedy.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

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Copyright © 2016 by Elizabeth Marro.

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PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley trade paperback edition / February 2016

eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-40985-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Marro, Elizabeth.

Casualties / Elizabeth Marro.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-425-28346-2

I. Title.

PS3613.A76933C38 2016

813'.6—dc23

2015031689

Cover photo: Rainy Road Through a Window copyright © Anthony Scibelli / Getty Images.

Cover design by Lesley Worrell.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

For Edward Marro, with love

The path to finishing this book was long, with many switchbacks and false turns. I would not have made it to the end without the practical, technical, physical, spiritual, and loving support of many people and one dog. Here they are:

For their patience, enthusiasm, and frank critiques, I thank my large and talented San Diego writing community beginning with Judy Hamilton who has read more versions of this book than anyone else and still remains my friend. Special thanks goes to Mary Jean Newcomer, Elizabeth Fitzsimons, and Jean Brandl who were there at the beginning. Jeanne Peterson, Melanie Traci, Melanie Hooks, Cuauhtémoc Q. Kish, Cheryl Carroll, Neal, Jill Hall, and Pamela Hunt Cloyd helped me through subsequent iterations. The following writers helped me to the finish line: Judy Reeves, Greg Johnson, Anita Knowles, Scott Barbour, Leslie Nack, and Jeffery Pinkston.

To Rae Francoeur: Thank you for forty years of unfailing friendship and for never letting that friendship cloud your keen editor's eye. Your fearlessness in your own writing has been an inspiration. Your advice and willingness to share your own experience, from writing that first sentence to publishing your own book, helped to light the way for me.

Thank you to Sheila Ragan, Bruce Bauer, Frank Barrancotto, Kay Chilcote, Laurie Scott, and Mary Anne Small Capistrano for encouraging me, helping me keep my balance, and for that fabulous cake.

The talented Megan Mulry connected me with my fabulous agent, Allison Hunter, who in turn matched me up with my equally fabulous editor at Berkley, Jackie Cantor. Amy Schneider and Pam Barricklow made sure my work shone in the best possible light. These women ushered me from the land of unpublished novelists to the land of published novelists. I will always be grateful.

My parents, Mary Power Donovan and Peter Guest, taught me to love the written word and never made me stop reading or writing unless it was absolutely necessary. Thank you to my siblings, Peter, Mary, John, Kit, Sam, Laura, Peter, Nancy, Ted, and Lib for cheering me on, and to Paul Donovan and Jen Ellis for adding their voices to the chorus. My Marro family, Miki, John, and Patrick, have been hugely supportive every step of the way.

Rory Donovan, my son and navigator, thank you for your special brand of insight and humor and for teaching me about mothers and sons.

And Ed Marro, my husband, my partner, my love, thank you for believing in me and for making it all possible.

A few more words . . .

As I wrote this book, I crossed paths with three Marines who made their mark on me, and reminded me why it was important to try to write it. Remembering Will, his friend Roger, and the young Marine who sat next to me at the Peace Resource Center of San Diego and shared so openly his confusion about coming home when his brothers remained behind.

I'm grateful to Sergeant Major Kenneth W. Strickland USMC, Retired, for his guidance when I had questions about procedures, deployment, and other aspects of Marine Corps life. Pamela Hunt Cloyd provided me with photographs and details about Camp Lejeune and answered questions that only a writer and military wife could. Donna Swisher of Pacific Water Therapy provided assistance with insights and resources for understanding the challenges and options faced by those with amputated limbs. Any errors here are my own.

The convergence of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the explosion of the Internet made it possible for those of us who are not in the military to learn very nearly in real-time about the day-to-day lives of those fighting and those who wait at home. Even after some of the blogs, videos, interviews, and social media pages of active-duty military were taken down, the voices of those at war or adjusting to their lives upon returning home found ways to get through. These stories grabbed me early and wouldn't let me go. They guided me along the way. I am grateful.

There are many excellent books on the subject of Iraq and the Marines. Here are a few I consulted during the writing of this novel:

The Blog of War: Front-Line Dispatches from Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan
, edited by Mathew Currier Burden

Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families
, edited by Andrew Carroll

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupation
, by IVAW and Aaron Glantz

Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq
, by Jess Goodell with John Hearn

War
, by Sebastian Junger

Making the Corps
, by Thomas E. Ricks

Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps
, by John Schaeffer and Frank Schaeffer

Jarhead
, by Anthony Swofford