To Be a Rose was featured in the February 2025 issue of The New York Times Book Review (NYTBR) magazine.
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Edmund B. Mason earned his B.F.A. degree from the University of Louisiana and his master’s degree from Central Michigan University. He served in the United States Air Force as a Logistics and Engineering officer and worked for many years in Turkey, North Africa, and Italy. After his Air Force career, he worked for a defense contractor. Following his illness, he retired, tended to his rose garden, and wrote from his home in Maryland. Mr. Mason passed away in 2011. This is his first published book. Anne Bowen, his wife, continues to remember her husband’s talent for weaving poetic prose with intricate storytelling, making each novel an immersive and thought-provoking experience. To Be a Rose is a testament to Mason’s ability to create compelling, emotionally rich stories that leave a lasting impact on readers.
It is 2005, and Ed, a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, has been hired as a Senior Logistics Expert to work with the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense as an advisor and mentor to two senior Afghan officers. However, soon after Ed settles into his new working routine, he finds himself being treated in a medical facility just outside Kabul, trapped in an eight-week dream. What follows is a straightforward and powerful novel of one man’s experiences in Afghanistan and how his personal battle to survive changes his life forever.
To Be a Rose by Edmund Mason is a deeply moving memoir that recounts the author’s journey through adversity, survival, and the power of resilience. The book details Mason’s experience traveling to Afghanistan as an advisor, his unexpected battle with a life-threatening illness, and his arduous recovery upon returning home. Through this powerful narrative, readers gain an intimate look at the struggles he faced, the strength he summoned to fight for his life, and the profound ways in which this experience transformed him.