A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN

In spare, poignant prose, New York Times assistant national news editor Canedy bares the human cost of the Iraq war.

An independent woman skeptical of marriage, the author found herself at age 33 falling in love with First Sgt. Charles King, “a gentle soul [whose] heart was as big as his biceps.” It was 1998, and Canedy, the daughter of a former drill sergeant, had never wanted to be a military wife who planned her career around her husband’s tours of duty. She was initially conflicted about her feelings for the physically imposing yet modest King, a commanding leader who was also a tender artist who drew portraits of angels. Canedy slowly succumbed to his charms, and by the time King left for Iraq in December 2005, she was five months pregnant and they were engaged. The sergeant had already begun writing a journal for his unborn son, Jordan, who was six months old when King was killed in Iraq, one month before he was to return to his family. Addressed to their son, Canedy’s narrative seeks to capture his father’s essence for him. It includes excerpts from King’s journal, which reveal the soul of a beautiful and decent man. “Always share your gifts with others,” he advises Jordan. “Laughter is great medicine for the soul,” and “sometimes you get lucky and catch a rainbow.” King put his military duty above family, refusing to take leave to attend his son’s birth. Taunted by a commanding officer, he knowingly participated in the recklessly unsafe final mission that killed him because he felt obligated to undergo the same risks as his soldiers. Canedy honestly describes her anger at his death; robbed of her future family life, she felt “agony, so raw that even breathing hurts.”

A gut-wrenching memoir of love unexpectedly eviscerated.