Review of Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester

Is it possible to fall in love before going to war? It is possible. This answer is provided by Gooseberry Island,(buy here) the book written by the best selling author Steven Manchester. Steven is a talented American author who is also famous to have written the bestseller novel Rockin Chair. Gooseberry Island is a book speaking about love and war, but also about the bad effects which war has on the soldiers enrolled in the Army. The book is also the story of David McClain and Linsdey Wood.   David and Lindsey are two twin souls because the parents of the girl had a similar love story like the one of their daughter with David. The latter meets Linsdey on the beach of Gooseberry Island a few days before going to the party organized to greet his departure for a mission in Afghanistan. Gooseberry Island overlooks in a stunning sea dominated by an enormous lighthouse. Lindsey and David sit on the bench that looks at the sea enlightened by the lighthouse. That same sea saw many things: migrants, war ships, tourist boats and everything life can offer in good and evil. The two characters fall in love immediately and promise each other to keep in touch during the absence of David in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Lindsey takes care of her father Denis, a veteran of the First Gulf War. Denis, indeed, suffers from PTSD, Posttraumatic stress disorder, a disease that many soldiers have developed after they returned from the war. Through this intense description of the father of Lindsay, the author focalizes his and our attention on one of the worst effects of war: the disease which affects many soldiers as they return home. After believing to do a job to bring peace and democracy in Afghanistan, even David very soon realizes that he is not doing no job and no mission, because military missions are only the hell, the hell of the war. He figures out all this when he is forced to kill a Taliban who beat a teenager on the street. When David returns home, he develops the same symptoms of Denis, the father of Lindsey. David thus decides to not involve Lindsey in his troubles and to reduce every contact with her. In this stage of the book, Steven Manchester shows a perfect parallelism among the stories of David and Lindsey and Denis and his wife, namely the mother of Lindsey. Denis’ wife, indeed, abandoned her husband during the disease caused by the Gulf War. Denis and his wife were very much in love, but the war and its cruelty managed to separate them. The love story between David and Lindsey risks the same sad destiny, but the woman doesn’t surrender and try to persuade David to resume a normal life. The end of Gooseberry Island, but also the whole book is amazing, both for the plot and for its deeper meaning. Through this book, Steven Manchester launches a hard and clear message against the side dark of peace missions and military interventions, a warning against governments to stop every form of conflict and war. Gooseberry Island is a heartfelt thought turned to thousands of soldiers whose mind and life were seriously harmed by war. The author, indeed, is fully committed to support returning soldiers. On occasion of the release of the book,scheduled for tomorrow, The Story Plant, the Publisher, will donate one dollar to the Wounded Warrior Project for every copy of Gooseberry Island that is pre-ordered and sold. All you have to do is email a copy of your receipt at thestoryplant@thestoryplant.com with the subject: Gooseberry Island Campaign and The publisher will make the donation. In addition to that, The Story Plant and the author will also donate a copy of the e-book to returning soldiers: one donation for each copy sold. Gooseberry island is, hence, a very useful book. It also induces to reflect and help all victims of the war, whether they are called David, Denis or other. Gooseberry Island is also a book to hope in a better life and in the power of love. To grasp this meaning immediately, we want to quote a sentence of the book cover: “Sometimes love heals, sometimes it does so much more”. You are right Steven: sometimes love can also erase the awful effects of the war. Thank you very much for giving us a real masterpiece of fiction and reality and an unforgettable work which will remain in our soul forever.