Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace is a harvest of creative, redemptive storytelling—nonfiction, fiction, and poetry—spanning five wars and written by those most profoundly affected by it.

For more than fifteen years, National Book Award-winning author Maxine Hong Kingston has led writing-and-meditation workshops for veterans and their families. The contributors to this volume—combat veterans, medics, and others who served in war; gang members, drug users, and victims of domestic violence; draft resisters, deserters, and peace activists—are part of this community of writers working together to heal the trauma of war through art. On Friday, May 25, 2007, Bill Moyers Journal, featured Maxine Hong Kingston and Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace. Reading their words, we witness worlds torn apart then rebuilt. This epic and timely work is the distilled wisdom of warriors and their loved ones, expressing themselves with breathtaking artistry and truth.

Maxine Hong Kingston’s books—The Woman Warrior, China Men, Tripmaster Monkey, The Fifth Book of Peace, and others—have won critical praise and national awards. President Bill Clinton presented her with a National Humanities Medal in 1997.