The ZEZ Project

Zachary and Jacob have known each other since kindergarten. Following high school, Jacob pursues a degree in psychology, while Zachary chooses a path that for three years takes him far away. Jacob believes that he truly understands his best friend, but everything changes within that belief when a "different" Zachary T. Etzel returns home from war . . . and there the book begins.While Zachary contends with the shadows of war, Jacob tries to solve the complex psychological puzzle of...
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Zachary and Jacob have known each other since kindergarten. Following high school, Jacob pursues a degree in psychology, while Zachary chooses a path that for three years takes him far away. Jacob believes that he truly understands his best friend, but everything changes within that belief when a "different" Zachary T. Etzel returns home from war . . . and there the book begins.While Zachary contends with the shadows of war, Jacob tries to solve the complex psychological puzzle of Zachary's behavior. With every piece, Jacob gains a better picture of courage, guilt, fear, loyalty, resilience and the power of friendship.The novel neither seeks to emphasize the right or wrong of war, nor indicate any particular era, but instead investigates the emotional consequences of war on soldiers.The images that Zachary brings back from war have been written with intensity, yet with consideration for the younger reader. Jacob's journaling on the concepts of war and soldiers is thought provoking:"War is strong. It is strong during the night, and war is strong during the day, sometimes turning those twelve hours equally dark . . . another twelve hours of darkness. The truth of war is filled with images of anguish. Efforts are made to keep those truths at a distance or blurred, but for the soldiers, the truth cannot be blurred, because they have seen war with such detail and color . . . a lot of red."