Middleton’s book gives readers a glimpse into the world that few people outside the military know: The horrors of combat, the emotional struggles of trying to balance the need to kill with the Christian admonition of “thou shall not kill,” and the emotional acceptance of the ultimate reality of war. . . Middleton, a lifelong Catholic, acknowledges he killed people in Iraq. He also talks about the spiritual journey he went on to reconcile the commandment against killing with warfare and protecting his country, his fellow soldiers and himself.