Noah Leo Blog – Stories & Thoughtful Articles for All

The connections soldiers build during war can stick with them long after the fighting ends. In the chaos and stress of combat, having teammates they can count on gives them the strength to keep going. War often forces soldiers to shut down emotionally and put their personal lives on hold just to get through it. That’s why the bond with their unit becomes so important — it helps them handle the mental toll that comes with being in a war zone. In The Wall by Aaron McCammon, James “Doc” Holiday survives this with his three important friends: Johnny Webster, Juan Carlos Menendez, and Jerry “MoTown” Miller.  These men fight beside Doc in the Vietnam War, and each one plays an important role in helping him grow. They aren’t just teammates—they help him become a stronger leader and a more caring person.  Their friendships show how powerful brotherhood can be, especially during tough times. Johnny Webster: The Spark of Morale Johnny Webster brings levity to the grim environment of V...

  What if, in your most vulnerable state: broken, unconscious, powerless, you began having visions of a life that wasn’t yours… and yet felt more real than your own? This is the premise of Traceback by David Benjamin. It’s the emotional engine behind Rafi Ciprone-Hantz’s extraordinary journey, a psychological, spiritual, and historical awakening that begins in the silence of a coma. A Collapse of Identity Rafi is a young, high-achieving Yale Law student, living a life built on structure, expectation, and quiet restraint. However, a traumatic accident leaves him in a coma, and everything changes. What follows isn’t a simple medical recovery; it’s a breakdown of boundaries between past and present, self and other. In his unresponsive state, Rafi becomes a witness to vivid scenes from across centuries: a bride-to-be in 19th-century Vilnius, a terrified young man aboard a ship to America, a survivor of the Great Storm in 1703 England. These visions seem like full, textured lives—compl...