Regarding Night Thoughts
Regarding Night Thoughts
One week ago, I received a notice from Substack with the heading, “A reader just pledged $80 to subscribe to Night Thoughts.” In the body of the message, it said, “One of your readers, [name omitted], believes your writing is worth paying for. They have pledged a subscription, which will be activated if you decide to turn on payments.” It was the second such notice I received from Substack.
I do not intend to turn on payments. This may sound corny, but I consider Night Thoughts a labor of love. I enjoy connecting with people. It is much more gratifying to receive the Substack notices with the heading, “New free subscriber to Night Thoughts!” So if you think reading Night Thoughts is worth your time, hit the Share button.
If you insist on putting a few bucks in my pocket, consider purchasing one or both of my books, the first of which, Always Faithful: Returning to Vietnam, was published in 2020. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Always-Faithful-Returning-Gary-Harlan/dp/0578715546/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QB45I7GV137M&keywords=always+faithful%3A+returning+to+Vietnam&qid=1697114993&s=books&sprefix=always+faithful+returning+to+vietnam%2Cstripbooks%2C1718&sr=1-1
In 2018 I drove from coast to coast interviewing Marines and Navy corpsmen I served with in Vietnam. The book contains their Vietnam and post-Vietnam experiences as well as my own. It’s also about the journey seven of us made back to Vietnam in 2019. We were accompanied by a film crew from Carbon Trace Productions, the result of which is a documentary titled, A Vietnam Peace Story. If you’d like to watch it, here’s the link: <
The second book is a novel, Redbirds: From Vietnam to the Ballpark, published this year. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Redbirds-Vietnam-Ballpark-Gary-Harlan/dp/B0BYRBY7M4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DM9ST6IEH6T8&keywords=redbirds%3A+from+vietnam+to+the+ballpark&qid=1697115978&s=books&sprefix=redbirds+from+vietnam+to+the+ballpark%2Cstripbooks%2C1495&sr=1-1
Here is one reader’s review:
Redbirds, by Gary Harlan, is an engaging, entertaining, and well-written book. With each chapter one finds oneself being drawn into the characters in the story. It is a book only partly about Vietnam, but mostly about humanity and redemption from tragedy, facilitated by a central character who is a family matriarch named Lucinda. Gary Harlan weaves a wonderful narrative of how Lucinda leads Jordan Langston upward from PTSD and the accompanying ills to recovery and into a productive and happy life through her own past life. A fascinating and recurring theme in the book is about the St. Louis Cardinal baseball team, hence the book title “Redbirds.” I purchased this book because I am a Vietnam veteran, but this book is much different from most books about the Vietnam War, and I am glad I read it, finding it difficult to put down. I would recommend “Redbirds” to every reader who may have an interest in philosophy, psychology, and of course—-baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Thank you,
Gary Harlan