Still Wrestling With The Consequences Of Combat

Karl Marlantes served as a Marine in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. When he came home, he suppressed the trauma of that experience, but eventually turned to writing as a form of therapy.

His 2010 novel "Matterhorn" was called the best novel of the Vietnam War ever written.

There has also been high praise for his latest non-fiction book, "What It Is Like To Go To War," which has just come out in paperback.

"No matter what your religious stance, is there is a part of us that's more than just our thinking and it's connected to the whole universe in some way, and that's what gets damaged when you kill other people," Marlantes told Here & Now's Alex Ashlock.