Here’s a collection that invites readers to see the world in a new light, where the ordinary becomes unforgettable.
Miss Moon offers a series of lyrical, self-contained narratives that shimmer with insight and intimacy. Alan Ramias weaves portraits that move between whimsical, poignant, and quietly shattering, reflecting the beauty and complexity of being human. With themes of memory, love, loss, and family, the collection bridges the deeply personal with the universal.
Ramias’s work reflects both his military service in Vietnam and his decades of global experience helping people and organizations grow. The result is a book that carries truth, beauty, and resonance — a collection readers will return to again and again.
This author was an Army reporter and photographer whose first novel, The Bridge, placed us in the middle of the devastating war in Vietnam. Now in the first part of this book Alan Ramias reaches deeper into the psyches of soldiers sent there, offering three stories, each based on real-life characters and incidents.
Where friends struggle with clashing emotions of love and jealousy while navigating loneliness and the dangers of a war that had no boundaries or front lines.
Where a young man is forced to live the ungodly experiences of war by a controlling monster of a father.
Where a worn and tattered veteran returns home to an endless darkness of broken promises, trashed friendships, an unfeeling family and an indifferent hometown.
This is the Vietnam War and its aftermath as it really was.
The second half of the book is a collection of poetry written by the author over a span of 40 years: humorous, quietly reflective, experimental, and always fascinated with language and imagery.
Enjoy an Excerpt
The first night of guard duty was typical: uneventful, boring, hard to stay awake. That’s what it was like for seasoned soldiers. But for the newly initiated, it was the ultimate in ceaseless terror: every noise, every movement, every shift in the breeze, every change of lighting brought ominous imaginings. Everything looked swollen, enlarged, animate. The skin could tingle so strongly it felt hot. The eyes strained until they throbbed and the vision turned watery. Sitting in a watch tower, glancing at the moon’s progress. Two hours on, four hours off, performed twice over a twelve-hour shift. Trying to sleep during the hours off was impossible even for some veterans; for the newcomer, not a chance. So it was for Tinkerbell.
There were three guards who took turns. He got the first shift—6 to 8 p.m.—and the fourth—12-2. The only difference from the ordinary routine was that instead of being alone in the tower, Tinkerbell was accompanied by LaPointe, who kept up a steady patter of instructions, observations, cautions, jokes and homesick talk.
Still, by the end of that first shift, Tinkerbell looked sweaty, pale and shaky as he came down from the tower where LaPointe had already descended and was waiting with the second-shift guard. After LaPointe gave a quick sitrep he guided Tinkerbell to a nearby tent with cots draped in mosquito netting, one of which was occupied by the third-shift guard.
When shaken two hours later, Tinkerbell got back up looking even worse. He opened his canteen, tipped it and pulled clumsily at the water, spilling some on his fatigues.
LaPoint, watching him stonily, said, “For chrissake, man, relax. We just gotta do this for two more hours. You’ll never make it at this rate.”
Tinkerbell looked at him dubiously. “You think something’s going to happen? We gonna get shot at?”
About the Author: 
Alan Ramias served as an Army reporter in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War, where he documented the daily lives of soldiers and civilians in a world marked by uncertainty. Those experiences became the foundation for The Bridge, a story about connection, loyalty, and the unexpected friendships forged in the shadow of conflict. After the war, Alan earned degrees in English, Philosophy, and an MBA, and built a distinguished corporate career helping organizations improve performance around the globe. Today, he draws on both his military service and decades of working with people from many cultures to create fiction that explores the complexities of human relationships, memory, and the moments that stay with us.
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