Nearly half a century passed between the death of her beloved “Eddy” and the arrival of a mysterious box on her doorstep. Provoked by that long-ago yet still-fresh loss, and this new reminder of the war that took him, author Lynne Lorine Ludwick has crafted a memoir unlike any other of the Vietnam War.Disarming its innocence, endearing in its simplicity, The Box chronicles the life Edward August Schultz, who grew up in the dual embrace of a large loving family and a small rural town on the central coast of California. Rife with vivid childhood memories, the book paints a life—and a character—so sweet, so ideal, it is nearly impossible to believe, and yet we do; the narrative is too honest to distrust. Which makes the interruption of Eddy’s life by an incomprehensible and immoral war that much more disturbing.Enhanced by the story of Eddy’s Viet Cong counterpart, The Box also offers a glimpse of another boy’s life, a childhood marked by constant war, unspeakable violence, and a soldier’s heart that only wanted his country back, made whole, after so many years of strife.Moved by a gift from one soldier who survived, to the family of another soldier who did not, the author of The Box gives readers a reason to hope. For in that gift lies the healing grace of remorse, understanding, and forgiveness.