Jobless, desperate, and panicky, Hicks took up work as “Military Resilience Coach” or MRC, (pronounced merk) providing “no records kept” counseling, social work, and resiliency coaching to military personnel. In this frank memoir, Hicks’s debut, she’s open about the deep misgivings she felt about the job, as an anti-war liberal with a keen interest in Buddhist teachings. Still, The Gift Shop at the DMZ recounts how she accepted the position and traveled to US military bases across the world on short assignments as an MRC, trying her best to help soldiers “reach a state of greater emotional peace” but stuck trying to perform “walking social work”—which she describes as “random schmoozing with people.” Clients, though, prove few as there is a fear among personnel that news of their therapeutic encounters will travel up the chain of command and affect their careers.

Not being terribly busy, Hicks spends time sightseeing and exploring the local cultures. She also tries best to practice what she preaches when confronted with anxiety and depression at Camp Casey in South Korea. Her innate interest in Buddhism helps her connect with lamas and nuns as well as other Europeans and Americans interested in Buddhist practices. This brings her a measure of peace and acceptance of her singlehood and loneliness.

Sedate in pace and tone, the memoir explores not just the psychological challenges endured by soldiers and their families that result from multiple deployments, but also exposes the attitudes of military top brass when it comes to understanding mental illness and trauma among army personnel. With its patriarchal norms of masculinity and rampant homophobia, the military comes across as a lumbering behemoth with one leg enmeshed in the past. Hicks’s candid description of her own struggles with anxiety and depression and her exposing of attitudes within the military makes this memoir an illuminating read.

Takeaway: A serene memoir about counseling US military personnel and families.

Comparable Titles: Sally Wolf’s Life of a Military Psychologist, Marjorie Morrison’s The Inside Battle.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A