O’Brien discusses the preceding chapter, “Speaking of Courage,” and tells the supposedly “true story” behind the fictional story. Bowker, who hanged himself three years after the story was written, suggested to O’Brien that he write the story. In spring 1975, O’Brien received a letter from Bowker describing his struggle to find a meaningful use of his life. Bowker had dropped out of community college and instead spent his mornings in bed, his afternoons playing pickup games of basketball, and his nights driving around aimlessly. O’Brien excerpts long passages of Bowker's letter, which suggested that O’Brien should write a story about a veteran who feels like he died in Vietnam and cannot adjust to daily life.
O’Brien comments on the letter and himself and how it seemed to him that he had a remarkably easy time adjusting to life after the war. He realizes that he has in fact been talking about the war through his writing, and comments that the act of telling stories allows people to objectify their experiences and maybe cope with them a bit more easily.
O’Brien then explains how he tried to work the material of Norman Bowker's story into a different novel, which forced him to omit some elements of the “true” story. This version was published as a short story, which Norman read and felt was terrible.
A few years later, O’Brien received a note from Norman's mother explaining that her son committed suicide. O’Brien clarifies that Norman was not responsible for Kiowa’s death, and that the Silver Star portion of the story is made up.
