The Other Side of Grief The Home Front and the Aftermath in
American Narratives of the Vietnam War A wide-ranging critical
assessment of the cultural impact of America's longest war The
lingering aftereffects of the Vietnam War resonate to this day
throughout American society: in foreign policy, in attitudes
about the military and war generally, and in the contemporary
lives of members of the so-called baby boom generation who came
of age during the 1960s and early 1970s. While the best-known
personal accounts of the war tend to center on the experience of
combat, Maureen Ryan’s The Other Side of Grief examines the
often overlooked narratives—novels, short stories, memoirs, and
films—that document the war’s impact on the home front. In
analyzing the accounts of Vietnam veterans, women as well as
men, Ryan focuses on the process of readjustment, on how the war
continued to insinuate itself into their lives, their families,
and their communities long after they returned home. She looks
at the writings of women