Pathways Through the Forest

A soldier on leave from Vietnam meets a recent college graduate. What transpires between them will forever change him, as he discovers the pathway home.

Following up from his book debut, Rain on the Leaves, author Richard Blaney returns with a prequel centered on a soldier's existential crisis while on leave during the Vietnam War.

In Pathways Through the Forest, country boy James Flaherty is granted leave from Vietnam and returns to his hometown in Pennsylvania where the Great Depression has never really ended. While out one evening, he loses his wallet. It's found by recent college graduate Diana who returns it and invites James to join a discussion group with her former classmates and professor. Realizing he has been set up, James is confronted with questions on the state of the war and Nixon's plans. Resigning himself to the situation after a few beers, James engages with the group and finds himself drawn into Diana's world. As they spend more time together, friendship blossoms into romance. But with the James's leave coming to an end, can they find a way to stay together?

Set against the backdrop of divisions within American society over the Vietnam War, Blaney's story of first love will appeal to any adult fan of military romance novels.