"A novel based on a true story"--Page 1 of cover

"When Elena's father dies under mysterious circumstances in his thirties, she finds herself face to face with his only living relative; an uncle she has never met. The eulogy he delivers detonates, tearing open a silence forged decades ago and left behind like a scorched shell. ... Their story begins in rural America's post-war factories, where Hollywood dreams and promiscuity collide with poverty and hard labor. It moves through homelessness and the crucible of the Vietnam war. It is a world heavy with welding torches, religious fundamentalism, and moral doubt. ... [This book] is a novel of buried truths and steel-forged courage. ... This is a story of fathers and sons, brothers in arms and in grief, communities that fail us, and those that pull us from the fire"--Page 4 of cover

"This is a work of creative nonfiction. Names, identifying details, and select events have been changed for privacy and narrative cohesion"--Title page verso