What It Feels Like to Survive an IED Blast

U.S. Marines patrol single file through Now Zad in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on April 1, 2009. Taliban have buried IEDs throughout the abandoned city, and U.S. forces there patrol through unpaved areas behind a mine sweeper in "Ranger file" to avoid stepping on the hidden explosives. John Moore/Getty Images

The following is an excerpt from “River City One: A Novel” (Knox Press; Nov. 7, 2023).

I’m laughing now because I can still see him. He’s got his helmet on, the chinstrap dangling and tobacco spit coming off his lip. I tell you the right side of his face was blown up like a puffer fish. He kept himself grungy, so unclean that you’d think not even the bad guys would touch him. Maybe that’s why I liked him being nearby, because I thought it would keep me safe or something.