The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
In both the spring and fall of 2016, we will initiate a community-wide reading program, using Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Tom Bissell’s The Father of All Things. As a Vietnam Veteran, O’Brien’s work addresses questions about how to articulate the trauma of war to others who have not experienced war directly. In particular, The Things They Carried, with its themes of storytelling, truth, and war trauma, provides a platform upon which to develop discussions about the legacies of war through the eyes of a war veteran.