Downriver: Memoir of a Warrior Poet

"Few war memoirs achieve the level of literary depth and emotional resonance of Downriver." -General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.)

A powerful Iraq War memoir about leadership, trauma, resilience, and the search for meaning after battle.

In Downriver: Memoir of a Warrior Poet, Ryan McDermott takes readers from the front lines of the 2003 invasion of Iraq-where he led an infantry platoon in several intense battles, including the Battle for Baghdad, as part of the 3rd Infantry Division-through the collapse of Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis, and into the private struggles of reintegration, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and fatherhood.

This literary memoir explores the emotional toll of combat, the burden of battlefield leadership, and the collapse of identity that follows war and ambition. Told with raw honesty and poetic insight, McDermott examines what it means to survive the battlefield only to face another war at home-with family, with memory, and with oneself.

Through vivid storytelling and combat-born poetry, Downriver offers a rare and unflinching account of a modern American warrior's journey-from patriotic idealism to disillusionment, and ultimately to renewal. It speaks to veterans, military families, and anyone who has struggled to rebuild after loss.

For readers of:

The Long Walk, Redeployment, The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell, and No Easy Day.

More than a war memoir, Downriver is a powerful meditation on identity, trauma, and redemption-and a reminder that the hardest battles often begin after the war ends.