Chapters 17 & 18 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 17: Old Haunts, Dakota feels like he has landed on the moon when he gets home in December. His family is happy to see him, but he feels exposed without cover and guns; he feels like the enemy is waiting to attack, yet he is unprepared to protect anyone. Though he does not really go crazy, the fact that he did not get his friends home as promised gnaws at him. At the end of 2009, Dakota is sent to Fort Thomas, KY for eight weeks of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, and he is eager to be cleared because his reenlistment date is quickly approaching and he does not want a desk job. He tries not to judge the others in his therapy group of ten, but few of them have even seen a shot fired, and they seem to...