Amid 150,000 people, the author re-meets an old schoolmate at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Dedication in
Washington, DC on November 13, 1982, and what unfolds is a love story between two unlikely people; Mike, a veteran of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Sep), Ranger Medic and LRRP, haunted by his time in service, and Martha, a successful NYC entrepreneur and designer with a client list of fashion superstars. (Perry Ellis, Eli Tahari, Henri Bendel, Angelo Donghia,
Willie Smith, Levi Strauss & Co.) Through their 3003-day journey, Martha eloquently describes their effort to recover Mike's "lost" self as he is diagnosed with PTSD, (little known at the time) as well as Martha's own recovery after the loss of their child, poisoned by Agent Orange. Now, Martha's clients are dying of AIDS. Martha tells the story partly through Mike's letters, from their early romantic stages, and after the couple is married when Mike re-ups in the USArmy. Through their letters, it becomes both of their stories, A Generational Memoir.
