Shopping Cart Soldiers: A Novel

John Mulligan was born in Kirkintilloch, Scotland in 1950 into a family of 10 children. After his family emigrated to the US, Mulligan enlisted in the Air Force. Within weeks of turning 18 and while still a British citizen, he was on his way to combat in Vietnam. On his return to San Francisco, he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and was homeless for more than ten years. During his recovery from alcoholism in a veterans workshop, his extraordinary writing talent was discovered. In SHOPPING CART SOLDIERS, Mulligan’s autobiographical detail provides the basis for this story of a Vietnam Vet’s long, agonizing reorganisation of the fragments of his war torn psyche. This is the story of Finn, a man who survives the nightmares of Vietnam’s jungles, only to be tortured on his return by the horrifying acts he has witnessed which have shattered his heart and mind. Through the hells of addiction, homelessness and struggle, Finn slowly begins to rebuild his life and reclaim his soul. Simultaneously shocking and hopeful, SHOPPING CART SOLDIERS is an odyssey to the heart of war and its appalling aftermath.