A Troubled Peace by L.M. Elliot

A Troubled Peace by L.M. Elliot was published in 2009 and is the second book of three. The first being Under a War-Torn Sky. I have not yet read the third book, Across a War-Tossed Sea, but I will because I loved both the first and second books.

A Troubled Peace picks up after WWII has ended. Henry Forester has returned home, but he is suffering from PTSD. He can't forget about those who helped him escape. He returns to France to search for a young boy who helped him and to find his own internal sense of peace.

Elliot gets the battle with PTSD right. This is a powerful book.

Quotes I loved:

"Yes, their mission had saved countless American foot soldiers battling their way toward Berlin. But following orders only went so far against the morality of an airman's nightmares once he returned to base and reflected on what he had done" (12).

"How could he describe the flashbacks, the mess of past and present, his confusion between waking reality and nightmare. It was hard enough for Henry to understand how lost he felt while standing right there in his own home with the three people he cared about most" (27).

"Sometimes you get back on your feet better when you're helping someone else stand in the process" (31).

"How could anyone go on after witnessing that. . . That was how. One step in front of the other. Breathe in. Breath out. Remember the kindness, the bravery that managed to flicker amid such darkness" (81,82).

"Sometimes crazy actions carried their own logic" (82).

"'How will I find you?' 'Vivant, jespere.' 'Alive,' he hoped" (86).

"'Somehow she believes her time in prison, her ruined health, is all worth it to save boys like you.' Francois took a step toward Henry and grabbed the collar of his jacket. The gesture was not threatening but urgent. 'Be worth her sacrifice" (120).

"'Peace? Peace is not that easy, that finite, my boy. Many times that peace is troubled and contains the embers for the next war, smoldering, just in need of a spark" (171).

There were other quotes I loved, but this is getting pretty long. I loved this book, and I love L.M. Elliot's writing style. Five out of five stars.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.