In the Shadow of Fire

Jesse Cain was supposed to come home in one piece.

At just twenty-five, he's already survived the unthinkable-war, loss, and the blast that took his leg and nearly everything else. Now, back in the small town he left behind, Jesse must learn how to live in a world that no longer fits him, inside a body that feels foreign and broken.

Haunted by memories, scarred by trauma, and burdened by the stares of people who don't know what to say, Jesse leans on the few constants he has left: his fiercely loyal cousin Jake, his quiet, unwavering mother, and the ache of what used to be.

But coming home is only the beginning. As Jesse navigates crowded grocery store aisles, backyard barbecues, and awkward conversations with people who remember the old him, he begins to ask himself the hardest question of all-who is he now?

Tender, raw, and unflinching, Only Half Gone is a story of healing in pieces, of learning to stand tall when you can't stand at all, and of the invisible battles fought long after the war is over.