“Powerfully written, unflinching accounts of life on active duty—essential reading for anyone who cares about our veterans.”—Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review)

“An intricate narrative of service, its meaning, and the life that comes after. Deeply felt. Beautifully written.”—Elliot Ackerman, author of Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning

“Michael Ramos's raw, honest experiences chip away at the tired narrative of the broken veteran. His voice speaks for many and offers an opportunity for those removed from the toll of war to understand its impacts.”—Heather Kelly, coauthor of The Knock at the Door: Three Gold Star Families Bonded by Grief and Purpose

“Ramos's restlessly circling, lyric voice makes coming home not a singular event but a cycle of returns. This is more than a military memoir: it's remarkable witness for anyone struggling to define their sense of self.”—Graham Barnhart, author of The War Makes Everyone Lonely

“The After feels like a desert mirage, a masterful, dreamlike collection that allows both veteran and civilian to experience the heat, stench, and after of that desert war that no one ever really comes home from. —Kacy Tellessen, Eugene Sledge Award–winning author of Freaks of a Feather: A Marine Grunt's Memoir

“A veteran writer once asked if I knew of recent nonfiction war writing that went formally beyond narrative memoir or journalism to describe war with more lyrical experimentation. I told him as far I knew such a book didn't exist, though it should. Now, The After is that book.”—Steven Moore, author of The Longer We Were There: A Memoir of a Part-Time Soldier