WHAT HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT Sitting in the Flames?

As reviewed by New York Times best-selling author Ellen Tanner Marsh…
Much has been written about the Vietnam War. We’re all familiar with the brutal carnage, the heroics of soldiers under pressure and the endlessly heartbreaking entries in our history books. Is there a way to extract some good from the tragic war, and if so, how can we put a human face on it?
Author Dr. John Edwin DeVore has written a grippingly personal story of his experiences in Vietnam, an astonishing revelation of how those experiences led him on a spiritual search that transformed his life for the better. Like many veterans, DeVore was forever changed by his time in Vietnam. Overwhelmed with dark memories for 40 years, he struggled to find and create something from the pain. His intense, spiritual journey is the basis of Sitting in the Flames: Uncovering Fearlessness to Help Others, a shining and ambitious addition to the genre.
In clear, heartfelt prose, DeVore describes a brave and unflinching confrontation with his past, made necessary in order for him to have a more meaningful future. War, he realized, isn’t just one man’s experience—it’s the sum total experience of an entire country. To stop wars, he argues, we must understand them and why we seem to need them.
Beautifully told, DeVore’s book is an important and unforgettable addition to the literature of Vietnam-important in helping to erase the still troubled conscience of America and unforgettable for its moving confirmation of the belief that human beings can emerge from the most shattering experiences with their spirit still intact. Above all, this is a finely rendered and heartfelt account of one man’s inner journey to peace.