Reviewed by Jennifer Senick for Readers' Favorite

Sometimes history feels different when it’s told through the eyes of someone who lived through it. In That Damned War by John Gregery Medel, Sarah Ann Hillin looks back on her childhood in East Texas before, during, and after the Civil War. She grows up surrounded by a close family, including her parents, John and Autrey, and her beloved older brother, Davey. Life on their farm is built around hard work, faith, community, and a strong sense of what it means to be a Hillin. She also watches Davey’s relationship with Margarett Armstrong grow from young affection into plans for a future together. When the conflict reaches their lives, however, the security Sarah has always known begins to disappear. The war changes her household in ways she could never have imagined, forcing her and her loved ones to confront grief and uncertainty. Years later, Sarah is living in San Francisco with her mother and stepfather, Tom, and writing down what happened at her Momma’s request. She finds herself caught between the life she has now and the Texas home and loved ones she still carries with her. Can putting her memories into words help Sarah understand everything that damned war took from them?

The title That Damned War by John Gregery Medel caught my attention immediately, and by the end, I understood exactly why those words meant so much to Sarah. I’ve read quite a bit about the Civil War, but seeing it from her perspective offered me new things to consider. What stayed with me most was her love and pride for her family. She never forgot what it meant to be a Hillin, even when almost everything familiar had been taken away. Sarah’s relationship with Davey really got to me. I could feel how much she loved her brother and how hard it was for her to lose him. I felt bad that she and her mother became so distant, too. After all they had been through, I kept thinking they needed each other more than ever. At the same time, seeing how differently they handled their grief helped me understand both of them a little better. The writing was descriptive and made Sarah’s memories easy to picture, while the pace worked well for showing how much her world changed. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That came to mind because Sarah’s story is filled with loss, but it’s also about finding a way to keep living without forgetting where you came from. Readers who enjoy historical fiction told from a personal point of view, especially stories about family, conflict, loss, and survival, will find plenty to appreciate here.