I Was a Hero Once offers a deep reflection on a life shaped by extraordinary experiences and the search for meaning after being deployed to Vietnam. Why was this an important book for you to write?

1. As I say in the Author’s Note to the book:

I wrote this book for two reasons. First and foremost, I wrote it for my children. Their experience of me is as a slightly boring “soccer dad,” ordinary and unremarkable. I wanted them to know who I was and what I did before I became their Dad. More importantly, I hope the book can be inspiring to the entire younger generation they represent, and which will have to deal with the mess of a world we have left them. The second reason is that when I was young, I had hoped that my actions would “make a difference,” but I’m not so sure if they amounted to “a hill of beans” as Humphry Bogart famously intoned. If my actions did not change the world, then I dream that maybe my stories can.

How did you balance the need to be honest and authentic with the need to protect your privacy and that of others in your memoir?

I found when writing a memoir, there are countless facts and details that are considered and rejected in the writing process. There were a number of highly personal details that were originally in the manuscript that I ultimately cut out with the help and advice of an excellent editor. For many of the individuals in the book, I used only first names as a way to protect their privacy. Finally, there was a passage in the first copies of the book that were printed that my brother found hightly offensive. I was able to get that passage changed in subsequent printings of the book.

What was the most challenging part of writing your memoir, and what was the most rewarding?

I was never able to establish a sustainable focused writing schedule, so I tended to write when the inspiration hit me. The result was that it took me twenty years to finish the book. The most rewarding part has been the warm response from many of the folks who shared these adventures with me.

How has writing your memoir impacted or changed your life?

As I noted previously, I’ve lived with this book in process for twenty years. On the one hand, there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction in seeing what had been something of a dream for so long actually become a reality. On the other hand, there is a certain creative emptiness in my life at the moment, now that the book is completed.

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