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Local Iraq Vet’s Poignant, Humorous Memoir
Published by Oceano Company
Early reviews: “It’s modern day, No Time for Sergeants.”An Oceano publishing company didn’t need to look far to find material for its newest Amazon.com e-book release, Soldier-On: The Mercurey Goodman Experience. The book is a coming-of-age memoir written by an Arroyo Grande resident and Iraq war veteran who spent 10 years in the U.S. Army during times of peace and war.
“Soldier-On: The Mercurey Goodman Experience is poignant, humorous and as embarrassingly true-life as it gets,” said David Ciaffardini, who, with Grover Beach resident Matthew Gray, are co-founders of Rightword Publishing.
“Soldier-On sympathizes with your average military recruit in a way we haven’t seen much since MASH, Catch-22 and Gomer Pyle,” Ciaffardini said. “ It’s a quirky, fast-paced story perfect for the e-book age. You can read it on the weekend but you’ll remember the character for years.”
Soldier-On: The Mercury Goodman Experience is available for download from Amazon.com for $2.99 and,can be read on most computers, e-tablets or smart phones with a free Kindle Books download.
Mercurey Goodman, the book’s author, grew up in Oceano and graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 1994. Two years later he enlisted in the Army, rising to the rank of sergeant in a military career that began before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, spanned four continents and included combat duty in Iraq at the tIme of dictator Saddam Hussein’s capture and execution.
The Soldier-On manuscript was handed to Ciaffardini by his next door neighbor, Charley Goodman, the author’s father. “He didn’t even know I was starting an e-book publishing company,” Ciaffardini said. “He just wanted me to know what was going on with his son, who I knew as a kid but hadn’t seen much since he joined the Army.”
Ciaffardini found the manuscript to be a revelation.
“Lots of soldiers have war stories to tell, but Mercurey’s story is unpretentious and nakedly honest like no other soldier memoir I’ve read," Ciaffardini said.
“It’s action-packed while being hilarious and tragic too. It really lets you know that being a solider is more than just firing weapons and dodging land mines.”
Soldier On: The Mercurey Goodman Experience shows Goodman to have enlisted in the Army for all the right reasons without knowing how he would fit in. The fit was far from perfect. Goodman suffers more than his share of “ass chewings” from his superiors for various transgressions including losing his rifle, marching out of step, nearly shooting a child on the streets of Iraq, going AWOL after crashing his car into a moose, surviving a tornado and facing court martial. With suicidal thoughts and post traumatic stress syndrome, Goodman’s domestic situation is equally challenging as he deals with a cheating spouse, divorce, money woes, a mysterious illness, violent altercations, and unscrupulous business people.
“What is fresh about Soldier-On is that despite his challenges, embarrassments and accomplishments, Mercurey never points to himself as either a hero or a victim”, Ciaffardini said. “You laugh and cry for the guy and root for him because he is real and sincere. He truly ‘soldiers-on’ the best he knows how and we love him for that.”
Mercurey Goodman says he didn’t have any grand literary ambitions for Solider On, nor any political or philosophical messages.
“I was just looking to write an action and adventure story that keeps you wanting to hear more and find out whats going to happen next,” Goodman explained from his apartment in Arroyo Grande, where he’s working on his second book. “It’s about acceptance of who you are and how you just do what you have to do, accepting things for what they are.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Rightword: Rightword Publishing has at least three more e-books planned for release this year: a local history book, a book by an infamous punk rock personality, and a biography of a well-known sports hero.
Soldier-On: The Mercurey Goodman Experience by Mercurey Goodman
ISBN: 978-0-9886307-0-3 $2.99
Available though Amazon.com and Kindle Books
More information: rightwordpublishing.tumblr.com
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