About Face
Stories from the Threshold of Service, Identity, and Becoming
Every warrior faces an about face — a turning point where the path bends, old identities and ways of being fade, and new ones emerge. This series gathers the lived stories of warriors moving through those thresholds: before service, during service, and in the quiet, complicated seasons after.
Warriors have much to share with society about occupying threshold spaces and the existential shift that touches meaning, belonging, and purpose. The stories in this series aim to illuminate that deeper terrain.
This series is not about glorifying war or perseverance in conflict. It is about reckoning. It is about reorientation. It is about the moments when certainty dissolves and deeper questions surface: Who am I now? What remains? What must be released? What is mine to carry forward?
Each conversation explores the call to serve, the costs and gifts of service, and the evolving nature of warriorship. Through honest narration, we examine how meaning is remade and how warriors step into new forms of service, creativity, leadership, and care.
About Face is an offering to other warriors and to the society they serve and protect. It is a space to witness the full complexity of warriorship — to honor the humanity beneath the role, and to tend the ongoing work of becoming.
This series grows through shared voice.
If you are a warrior (military, first responder, veteran) standing on the threshold of service and feel called to share a turning point in your journey, I invite you into conversation.
You may participate anonymously if you prefer. You always have choice around what you share. These stories are held with care, consent, and respect.
The first stories in this series will be released in the coming weeks. Each conversation will enter this space with depth and integrity, honoring the complexity of the warrior path.
If this work resonates with you, I invite you to subscribe and follow along as the series unfolds.
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Michael Novotny
Author | Artist | Threshold Explorer