"My Brother’s War" tells the story of a soldier, Gary Hines, written by Jessica Hines, his younger sister, who sought to understand the circumstances surrounding his life with Post Traumatic Stress — and his untimely death by his own hand 10 years after returning home from the Vietnam War.

Gary’s letters, photographs and his personal effects found in a small box served as guides to Hines, who traveled twice to Vietnam, attended a reunion of his comrades, called Army buddies decades after the war, and visited the home where he died. Finding handwritten declarations of love written by Gary’s Vietnamese fiancé, Hines also uncovered a surprising and mysterious love story.

Using her brother’s photographs as starting points allowed Hines to see the landscapes that shaped his experiences of trauma and to create the illusion of memory. Using shadows, magnification and reflections, Hines met the challenge of discovery and understanding by creating images, with limited means, of things that no longer exist. 

This work is the often untold story of loss, grief, hope, healing, love and living in the aftermath of war — both for a veteran and for his family and friends. “My Brother’s War” makes reference to families worldwide that have lost and are presently losing loved ones to war. Hines’ work seeks to inspire, as the only alternative, a peaceful coexistence.

Hines, who is a professor of photography at Georgia Southern University, uses the camera’s inherent qualities to explore illusion and to suggest truths that underlie the visible world. At the core of Hines’ work lies an inquisitive nature inspired by personal memory, experience and the unconscious mind. Hines has won many awards including the Kolga Award, the Pollux Humanitarian Documentary grant, Lens Culture International Exposure Award and the Kuala Lumpur International Photo Award. Her work has been extensively exhibited and published throughout the world in North & South America, throughout Asia, Europe and Australasia.

“The book is 14 years in the making and I am thrilled that it is finally being released in book form. The road has been long. I am hoping that the story will resonate with many as it addresses not only the experience of war veterans and their surviving families and friends, but also other experiences we all share that make us human,” said Hines. 

The book was published with the support of The Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Arts Foundation, and will be released in November.