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‘WHERE WAR ENDS—
RECOVERING FROM PTSD AND MORAL INJURY’

COVER STORY—This book could save a life. The 2,700-mile walk across America described in this memoir certainly saved Tom Voss’s life—after the “moral injuries” of horrific violence during his service as an infantry scout in Iraq, where he participated in hundreds of combat and humanitarian missions. You may already have seen the feature-length documentary film about Tom’s trek and his struggle to heal from this trauma that is so common among America’s 18 million veterans.

Each day, 20 veterans die by suicide. Tom nearly did. His work—from his long nationwide hike, to his writing and teaching now that he is recovering—is aimed at helping to reduce that terrible toll.

Please, read our Cover Story, which includes an interview with Tom, links to view the documentary film and to get his new book—plus links to Tom’s website and resources he recommends for veterans and the families and friends who love them.

Marking Invest in Veterans Week

MARCH 1-7 has become a special week for promoting veterans and their families. So, this week, Susan Stitt writes our Front Edge Publishing column about two related books we publish, designed to help all Americans better understand the lives of veterans: 100 Questions & Answers about Veterans and The Black Knight, the memoir of retired Col. Clifford Worthy, the oldest living African-American graduate of West Point.

Know a veteran? Most of us do. Please, do a good deed this week, read these stories—and join in compassionate responses.

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Holidays & Festivals

MAKE IT A MEMORABLE LENT

A PERFECT YEAR FOR ‘OUR LENT’—Holidays & Festivals columnist Stephanie Fenton reports on the start of Lent this past week for 2 billion Christians: “With Lent quickly approaching and Easter on the horizon, Western Christians enter the season of repentance on Ash Wednesday—after, of course, making any last indulgences the day before, on Fat Tuesday.” (Click to read more.)

She also reports on the fast of Great Lent for Eastern Christians, which begins March 2 just after Cheesefare Sunday, when observant Orthodox families will have their last dairy products until Easter: “Cheesefare Sunday will mark the discontinuation of partaking in dairy products until Pascha. For Orthodox Christians, Great Lent begins the day following Cheesefare Sunday, on Clean Monday—this year, March 2.”

If you’re looking for an inspiring book to read day-by-day along your own Lenten journey this year, we recommend Our Lent: Things We Carry. These 40 daily stories by David Crumm highlight 40 “things” that Jesus and his followers encountered in the final days of his life, which is the story Christians remember as Easter approaches. Each of the daily stories connects those things in Jesus’s life so long ago with people’s lives today.

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National Day of Unplugging

MARCH 6-7—Two national organizations are chiming in on a message shared by ReadTheSpirit and educators nationwide: We should help children to reduce their current levels of screen time. In fact, all of us should consider how much time we spend focused on screens—and devote ourselves to more human contact. Our Holidays & Festivals section has the story, plus news about a great way to mark this holiday with someone you love: Sadie Sees Trouble, a children’s book that’s an open invitation to have unplugged fun around the house.

If you missed it, we just published a couple of stories about children in rural Georgia discovering the love of reading—including a story by Susan Stitt, who rode along on Stan Tucker’s literacy bus and saw the smiling faces of children selecting their books.

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Care to see all of our Holidays & Festivals columns? It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just remember the address InterfaithHolidays.com

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Courageous Journalist Freed—
Still Faces Crippling Fines

ERICK KABENDERA—Journalists around the world, this week, are spreading awareness of the release in Tanzania of Erick Kabendera, a founding member of the International Association of Religion Journalists. Erick was imprisoned last year in a government crackdown. While Erick has been freed, as this story on the IARJ website points out, journalists continue to decry the government’s harsh treatment—including crippling fines. You can help the cause by visiting the IARJ story about Erick and sharing it on social media, which we believe will add to public pressure against the government’s treatment of him.

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FAITH & FILM 

ED McNULTY, for decades, has published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film. Most of his work is freely published. Ed supports his work by selling the Visual Parables Journal, a monthly magazine packed with discussion guides to films. This resource is used coast-to-coast by individuals who love the movies and by educators, clergy and small-group leaders.

Among Ed’s free reviews and columns are:

• CALL OF THE WILD—Ed writes, “Director Chris Sanders and scriptwriter Michael Green have transformed Jack London’s 1903 novel from a parable of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” into one that teaches kindness as a way of life.” (4 out of 5 stars)
• BAD BOYS FOR LIFE—”Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are older, and at least one of them a bit wiser.” (3 stars)
• THE PHOTOGRAPH—”Released in time for Valentine Day, director Stella Meghie’s film is a good date film for those who want a love story a little more complicated than a Hallmark film.” (4 stars)
• HANK WILLIAMS: THE SHOW HE NEVER GAVE—Ed reaches back to 1980, this week, to recommend a movie about the tragic life and the musical legacy of Hank Williams. The film currently is available to Netflix subscribers. (5 stars)
• BURDEN—You’ll have to look for this indie film, based on true events, but Ed McNulty says it’s well worth the effort. He writes, “Set during the 90s, this is an amazing story that will remind you of last year’s The Best of Enemies, which also told the story of how a KKK member and a black activist became friends.” Although the film was shot in 2016 and first shown at film festivals in 2018, only now is it appearing in more cities across the U.S. (4.5 stars)
• THE GENTLEMEN—You may want to skip Guy Ritchie’s new action comedy, which Ed says is “stuffed with killers and drug dealers and a blackmailer.” (3 out of 5 stars)
• SONIC THE HEDGEHOG—Ed writes, “Along with its zany action, which the kids will love, there are plenty of funny lines.”
• THE ASSISTANT—“Writer/director Kitty Green, hitherto a documentarian, tackles in her first feature film the theme of power, similar to that in Bombshell, but in a far less sensational way.” (4.5 out of 5 stars)

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