my name is kayla williams. i enlisted in the army in 2000. it didn't seem terribly likely in that year that i would go to war. i read the fine print in the justin armies went to war but didn't seem very likely that i would go to war. i joined for a lot of reasons like most people. i wanted to serve my country but i was also looking for money to go to graduate school and access to the g i bill. i wanted to give something back to the larger community. i had grown up for on food stamps off and on so i felt the country that invested in me and i wanted to repay that. i was also looking to get out of the rut that i had carefully dug for myself. i wanted a challenge and i was looking to develop some emotional self control and i thought i could get that in basic training because i cry network a few times, didn't help you with professional success. a drill sergeant screaming in my face might help me to maintain my bearings. network, by the way. i chose to become a linguist. i thought was cool that the military was willing to pay me to learn a foreign

. >> doctors jennifer percy, kenneth macleish and kayla williams at third had the 2014 southern festival of books in nashville, tenn. to discuss the topic of war and its aftermath. the authors all have reason books on the topic. be advised ver