Bridging

I'm emmersed in the bridging chapters at the moment. They are the ones that have me complete pre.deployment training, travel to Croatia and then into central Bosnia. They are a challenge because they set the scene for my experiences in Bosnia. At best they will have people appreciate or understand how I was while there - the choices I made, good and bad. They also begin the process of establishing how I managed my emotional self. I didn't mean it to be that way but my voice in the book reinforces a theme. I won't share what I think it is, readers can and will decide in the end. But there is a thread, sometimes it is thick and very tangible, other times it is fine and delicate.........but it's there.

At a basic level these chapters provide some of the "facts" of the deployment, where we were, what we were to do, the brief history of the conflict itself. It's actually quite complex to write these things simply. But it's important. There are some historical facts that, I believe, should inform any discussion of the Bosnian war; I will explain rape as a war crime and ethnic cleansing as an action..........without losing the reader..........it's ambitious, I want and need to do it well. I am glad to have the intellect, commitment and political drivers of my ghost editor - she won't let me tell half a story nor tell any of it badly.