A once outcast in school unwittingly finds love for the first time. Looked at as a troublemaker, the young writer sits in class as the events of 9/11 unfold, and thus an unforgettable journey begins. Enlisting in the army, he finds himself in combat in the unforgiving mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. When an explosion leaves him temporarily blind, the phrase Everything happens for a reason resonates with him for the first time. The reader accompanies Sgt. Heckman as he journeys through war, recovery, loss, and love to see how even the worst situations can have a happy ending.