ALWAYS RETURN: A heroes journey into a heart of darkness - 6656

Twenty years after the Vietnam War, the US restored diplomatic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Yet, many unresolved questions concerning the fate of Americans still listed as Missing in Action (MIAs) and Prisoner of War (POWs) remained. Vietnam had not been forthcoming in accounting for “all” American POWs believed to be in prisons at the time of America’s withdrawal. Many believe, and some still do, not all POWs were repatriated. Also, Vietnam refused to account for Americans missing in action.Always Return deals with the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Touted as the woman whose heroics won the last battle of the Vietnam War, Ofa Hawkins returns to Vietnam with a vengeance and is driven to determine the truth regarding the mystery of the MIAs and POWs. It is the heroes’ journey, and regardless of danger, she plods ahead believing, “if one is to be alive, they should do painful, brave, and beautiful things.” Always return is a story about the human condition, the duality of a woman whose dichotomous intentions baffle rationality. Shakespeare expresses this quandary best. “What a piece of work is man? How like a god?” Ofa Hawkins and those who follow her righteous indignation are a testament to his contention regarding the nobility of man.The goddess Athena sent Jason to rescue a Golden Fleece to a faraway land fraught with monsters and treachery. Jason named his ship ARGO and recruited warriors of good intention. The Argonauts! One was a god, a phantom god. Similarly, Ofa Hawkins instructs Bepa Burkov to venture into a heart of darkness, Ha Giang Province in Northern Vietnam, to find the paragon at the end of the valley. You’ll read of a journey fraught with peril but driven by the belief, that nothing is impossible to a valiant heart. She and her Argonauts chase the proclivities of Penelope Anne O’Grady and Juliana Lu Bravo, two errant teens whose exploits turn from the ruckus sensibilities of youth to perils far greater than they could have imagined.
ASIN: B088L79WD1
VSKU: BVV.B088L79WD1.VG
Condition: Very Good
Author/Artist:Puglia, Joseph M.
Binding: Paperback