About the Author
Michael Garofalo Papale
Michael Garofalo Papale shares a remarkable firsthand perspective of the Vietnam War through Radio Phuoc Vinh. Drawing from personal experiences and memories, he brings readers into a world of danger, humor, brotherhood, and survival.
His storytelling preserves an important chapter of history while honoring the soldiers whose lives were forever changed by war.
2025 was not her friend. It was a year of immobilizing heartbreak, of grieving someone still alive, of waking up every morning and having to pretend the world was not crumbling. Depression was loud, hope was quiet, some nights she stared at the ceiling and asked if it ever got better.
She started writing in a notes app, just fragments, i.e., sad thoughts, angry thoughts, confessions she never planned to show anyone. But the writing became a lifeline. Slowly, it became a book, and that too an honest archive of healing out loud and on her own terms.
Her father believed in her before anyone else did. Her mother is strong and beautiful and deserves to hear those words. Her big brother is more than his hardships. Her family taught her what steady love looks like. That kind of love holds you up when romantic love burns you down.
Brittany is 31 now. She is not fixed. She is not pretending to be. But 2026 is becoming a better friend.
She hopes her words find the people who need them. She hopes some of you feel seen. And she hopes others never have to relate at all.