CHICO, Calif., September 30, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The ills of war are not often left on the battlefield. The surviving soldiers sometimes return to the home front with their invisible wounds gaping. In Midnight Rain (now available through 1stBooks), author Erica Traverso examines the effects of shell shock on a soldier and his loved ones.
Set in a small town during World War I, Midnight Rain is the story of Elizabeth Conroy, a young woman in her 20s, and her future husband, John Mitchell, a soldier returning from the frontlines of the war. The only daughter of an old-fashioned, upper middle class family, Elizabeth enjoys a comfortable life. Betrothed to John, who is away at war, she breaks free of her father's restrictions by volunteering at a local Army hospital. There, she receives her first glimpse of the horrors playing within the minds of these soldiers. When her mother nearly dies from influenza, Elizabeth takes over the house duties, and her pampered life all but completely disappears.
When John returns home, he seems the same. The wedding plans begin, and slowly it becomes apparent that John is suffering silently from shell shock. Attempting to hide from the problems plaguing his mind, he distances himself from everything and everyone he loves, including his future bride. Searching for understanding, Elizabeth finds a packet of letters he had written daily during the war. The letters are addressed to her, but were never sent. Through these letters, she discovers the horrors he experienced.
"Midnight Rain chronicles the struggles of a man and woman facing the scars and the drastically changing world after World War I with intensely rendered details of Johnny's memories and the poignant story of a couple's attempts to save their marriage and ultimately, Johnny's life. It is a novel about the horror of war and the redemption found only in love," Traverso says.
Traverso lives in Northern California where she teaches composition and creative writing at both Butte Community College and Shasta Community College. Midnight Rain is her first published book.
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