J.R. Slade
J. R. Slade, a full-time Law enforcement officer and part-time Army Reserve soldier was living a comfortable lifestyle, along with his family in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. It was on a cool evening in March of 2006, when his life was suddenly changed by the delivery of an unexpected document, the contents of which were even more surprising. Inside the envelope was a document informing Sergeant Slade that he had been selected to be deployed to Iraq to fight in the war on terror. Military men and women are expected to rise to the challenge, and to be prepared for, and to respond to, such notifications. This notification was different. Out of a unit of roughly 125 soldiers, the full-time law enforcement officer and part-time soldier was the only one selected for deployment. Sergeant Slade was surprised that he was selected at such a late stage in his career. He was in the middle of planning his retirement from the military in a matter of eight months. Circumstances changed, and within a few weeks, Sergeant Slade was forced to leave his family behind. He was eventually deployed. The deployment was to last for approximately fifteen to seventeen months, exceeding his remaining time in the military. Being notified of deployment at such a late stage in his career was certainly unforeseen. Against the backdrop of war, Sergeant Slade reveals the complexity of serving his country. He found himself, along with two other U.S. soldiers, three Iraqi interpreters, living and working among a large group of Iraqi soldiers. He struggled with his emotions, as he tried to survive the day-to-day turmoil of war. The assignment in Iraq became a priority in his life, and almost nothing else mattered. Sergeant Slade had signed a contract with the U.S. Army and was obligated to comply. In the end, Sergeant Slade had to find the inner strength to cope with the mental anguish, as a result of his deployment. An emotional seed was planted in his life from day one of the notification, and it grew every day throughout the deployment. This is J. R. Slade's story.
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Author J.R. Slade
A Novel of Censorship, Exile, and the Fight for Free Speech
When truth becomes dangerous, silence is never a choice.
In modern-day Turkey, an ambitious writer dares to confront the regime she holds responsible for her father's death-armed only with her words. But when her book is banned and whispers of her arrest begin to spread, she is forced to make an impossible decision: stay and risk imprisonment or flee the only home she's ever known.
Banned Book, Banned Author follows her harrowing journey into exile, where the fight for freedom of speech becomes not just a political battle-but a personal reckoning with identity, justice, and the price of telling the truth.
This timely novel explores the silencing of marginalized voices, the devastating cost of censorship, and the resilience of those who refuse to be erased. For readers who believe in human rights, the power of storytelling, and the global struggle for free expression, this is a story that demands to be heard.
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The seeds for this book were planted when I started keeping a journal of my day to day actions while I was deployed to Iraq. They started to grow as I began writing for therapy. Throughout the pages of this book, I attempt to share with the reader my unforeseen experiences while in Iraq. I write about my deployment to Iraq to participate in the “Operation Iraqi Freedom” (OIF) campaign, in 2006 and 2007. To avoid conflict or cause harm to anyone, most of the character's names were changed. I did not use the official name of the Iraqi military training school for similar reasons.
In writing this book I was forced to reckon with the sacrifices of being deployed. I learned to cope with life, death, and chaos. I now have a better understanding; knowing that there are specific reasons for each.
To this very day, I am grateful to God, for my survival, and for enabling me to write this book. In doing so, I vow to never forget the men and women who were also deployed on the mission but did not return.