A new generation of authors tells personal stories of the Iraq, Afghanistan wars

David Meek at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, in 2012, with his bomb-sniffing dog, Zena, right before the pair left Afghanistan. She returned with him to the U.S. (David Meek)

By LINDA F. HERSEY  STARS AND STRIPES

After his final Afghanistan deployment, Army veteran David Meek sat down at his desk and began to carefully reconstruct his combat experiences, which included a suicide bombing in Kabul on Oct. 29, 2011, that killed members of his unit.

Meek, a 55-year-old retired major, reviewed dozens of old personal emails, perused notes and letters he had sent home, and studied photos from military duty that he had stored away and nearly forgotten.

A former educator and high school principal, Meek said he realized that he had stories to share about his war experiences that touched on important themes, such as brotherhood and loss, coming home after combat, and the isolation of suffering from a trauma disorder like PTSD.

Meek, who lives in California, penned two memoirs that he self-published and is marketing at local book signings and community events.

David Meek, a 55-year-old retired Army major, wrote “Soldier On: An Afghanistan Memoir of Leadership, Loss, and the Long Road Home.” (Screenshot)

“Soldier On: An Afghanistan Memoir of Leadership, Loss, and the Long Road Home” was published last month and is primarily sold through online retailers.

“Still Being Written: God Does His Best Work in Unfinished Stories” is another deeply personal story by Meek about facing crises and finding hope and transformation.

“I understand things now that I couldn’t fully appreciate or recognize as a younger man,” said Meek, who is about to self-publish a third book, titled “Zena: The True Story of a Military Working Dog.”

It is a children’s book and true story about a military working dog that Meek brought home from Afghanistan.

A quick scan of new book releases on the Afghan and Iraq wars shows that Meek is in good company as a new author who uses his military experiences as inspiration.

There has been a recent surge of books that offer firsthand accounts by former GIs who fought in these conflicts.

Veterans who did not seek or secure traditional contracts are publishing their deployment diaries, unit histories and personal chronicles about the unseen moral injuries of war, according to Casemate Publishers, an independent publishing house.

The proliferation of books on virtual store shelves reflects the rapid growth and popularity of self-publishing platforms, such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, according to Publishers Weekly.

Memoirs by veterans provide an unfiltered view of military service that would otherwise remain untold in traditional historical accounts, said Julie Kanta, an Air Force veteran.

Kanta recently wrote about the value of memoirs by military veterans in an essay for Ooligan Press, a student-run trade press in the Pacific Northwest.

War stories by these first-time authors often are “nuanced, personal, and impactful,” Kanta said.

While historical topics, such as World War II, are popular categories for first-time authors, independent publishing houses also report a steady influx of modern warfare titles, according to Publishers Weekly.

Meek said that the inspiration and material for his books came directly from the weekly emails he sent to friends and family back home, along with information from his military records and his own personal reflections.

“A lot of my writing is an open letter about my life,” said Meek, who enlisted in the Army at 37 and retired in June 2025.

“Soldier On” moved up to No. 12 this week, from No. 22, on Amazon’s bestseller list of new biographies and memoirs on the Afghan and Iraq wars.

“Still Being Written: God Does His Best Work in Unfinished Stories,” was written and self-published by David Meek, who is a retired Army major. (Screenshot)

“Still Being Written” has become an in-demand book at some state prisons, which have ordered dozens of copies for inmates to read, Meek said.

“Still Being Written” emphasizes that “the most painful chapters of life do not have to become the last,” according to a book passage.

Here is a sampling of some other new books on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars authored by former service members who participated in those conflicts.

“No Excuses: From Haiti to Special Forces, a True Underdog Story” is by Jay Dorleus, a retired first sergeant who served in Army special operations. (Screenshot)

“No Excuses: From Haiti to Special Forces, a True Underdog Story” is by Jay Dorleus, a retired first sergeant who served in Army special operations for most of his 20-year military career.

A resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., Dorleus said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, compelled him to enlist in the military.

The memoir chronicles his emigration to the U.S. as a 10-year-old from Haiti.

But the main focus is on the self-discipline needed to survive in the least hospitable environments during military deployments.

“The Armored Heart: How a Green Beret Learned to Lead with Love — and a Shoelace” is by Fred “Doom” Dummar, a retired colonel in Army Special Forces.

Dummar enlisted in the military as a teenager and worked as a medic. He served for 30 years, including as a senior adviser to Afghan special operations.

His first-person book is a meditation on running in ultramarathons, as a metaphor for surviving hardship and for lasting friendships.

Since 2007, Dummar has run alongside Ivan Castro, a former Green Beret blinded in Iraq, in ultramarathons, which extend beyond the traditional 26.2-mile competitions.

“Nothing as It Seems” is a war memoir by former Army infantry officer Dennis J. Call, who fought in both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. (Screenshot)

“Nothing as It Seems” is a memoir by former Army infantry officer Dennis J. Call, who fought in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

“During his nearly 14 years on active duty, he led soldiers in combat during three deployments in support of the Global War on Terror, serving with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq and the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan,” according to Call’s biography.

His memoir is a reflection on the author’s inner struggles to make sense of his wartime experiences.

Call worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs following military service. He has an adult son who serves in the Marine Corps.

Linda F. Hersey is based in Washington, D.C., and reports on veterans. She previously covered the Navy and Marine Corps at Inside Washington Publishers. She also was a government reporter at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska, where she reported on the military, economy and congressional delegation.

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