Written by Danielle Trussoni, Reviewed by Erica
Falling Through the Earth is a gritty, honest, sometimes humorous and often uncomfortable telling of a childhood marred by the Vietnam War. Trussoni’s father served as a tunnel rat during the conflict, and his inability to face the horror he encountered there follows him through the rest of his life. But it not only haunts her father; this is the most striking book I’ve read that vividly portrays the havoc war wrought not only on those who participate, but on their families as well. Danielle’s parents divorce when she is 12 and she chooses to leave her mother and younger siblings and live with her father, who spends most of his time working and as the most regular regular at Roscoe’s, the corner bar. It is a hard life for a young girl and through Trussoni’s masterful narrative we see how the hardships in her family lie in the shadow of Vietnam. She weaves her childhood memories, her father’s memories of the war, and her own pilgrimage back to Vietnam into this rich, timely memoir.