If “Pay It Forward
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To many, wars are just headline news, or just a news clip on television. To military families, it is real as they worry about their love ones fighting a war overseas. And yet, when they come home unexpectedly, without the brass band welcoming them, we are bewildered and lost. And, worst, we accuse the military member of breaking the rules or doing something sinister without giving them a chance to explain.
Such was the case with Joseph Stellkellner, who after only three months of deployment went back home, not in shame but not in good graces of the military either. A decision he made one night in Baghdad will test the love between him and his siblings, between him and his family.
Actually, it will test the endurance of the human spirit as we see Ruth and her little brother, Aubrey, both of them just teenagers fight a war they were not even supposed to be involved in.
You will love them and you will hate them, the whole Stellkellner family. You want to give Joseph the benefit of the doubt, but his stoic silence was not giving him any favors. You want to hug Ruth and Aubrey, give them your love but they are teenagers and can be annoying. You will question the decisions of Mr. & Mrs. Stellkellner, the true adults in this situation and the ones who have to face the consequences of their son’s actions.
Oftentimes, when we read the headlines, we just focus on what is being said and do not really think of the other side of the story. We just go with the flow on the media frenzy that follows. We oftentimes forget that these are people. They have families, relatives and friends. That, though we do not mean to harm them even just by our disinterest, they do hurt.
In “Ask Him Why
“Ask Him Why
“Ask Him Why
From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes the stunning and emotional story of a young soldier’s unthinkable act . . . and the bonds of a sister and brother’s love.
Ruth and her little brother, Aubrey, are just teenagers when their older brother ships off to Iraq. When Joseph returns, uninjured, only three and a half months later, Ruth is happy he is safe but also deeply worried. How can it be that her courageous big brother has been dishonorably discharged for refusing to go out on duty? Aubrey can’t believe that his hero doesn’t have very good reasons.
Yet as the horrifying details of the incident emerge, Joseph disappears. In their attempts to find him, Ruth and Aubrey discover he has a past far darker than either of them could imagine. But even as they learn more about their brother, important questions remain unanswered—why did he betray his unit, his country, and now his family? Joseph’s refusal to speak ignites a fire in young Aubrey that results in a disastrous, and public, act of rebellion.
The impact of Joseph’s fateful decision one night in Baghdad will echo for years to come, with his siblings caught between their love for him and the media’s engulfing frenzy of judgment. Will their family ever make their way back to each other and find a way to forgive?
