Freaks of a Feather

A Marine Grunt's Memoir

By: Kacy Tellessen

Narrated by: Patrick Kirchner

Kacy Tellessen is a grunt. After completing high school in rural Washington, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and began the hero's journey he imagined might parallel those epic tales he'd consumed throughout adolescence. But what Tellessen lived through—from boot camp to the battlefield and home again—had little in common with Homer's tales or Hollywood's depictions.

In his memoir, Tellessen offers a truer account of life as an infantryman: the complicated, conflicting, adrenaline-pumping, and traumatic experience of war. Though much of our country's fighting and dying is done by infantry members, few accounts detail the grunt experience with as much clarity and vulnerability as Freaks of a Feather.

Kacy was born in Spokane and raised in Spangle, Washington, a small farming community that clings to the edge of the Palouse. Kacy joined the Marine Corps infantry directly out of high school and deployed twice to Iraq as an Infantry machine gunner with Second Battalion, Third Marines from 2005-2009. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Zero-Dark-Thirty literary journal, as well as the soflete website.

©2021 Kacy Tellessen (P)2022 Kacy Tellessen

Critic reviews

"Powerful prose, honest and humble. Only a Marine could write this. I’d be proud to have Kacy in my gun-team. Semper Fi." (Johnnie Clark, author of the best-selling military classic Guns Up!)

"As introspective as he is entertaining, Tellessen uses a captivating blend of muscular and minimalistic prose to give us an uncomfortably honest look at where courage and nature diverge. Freaks of a Feather immediately separates itself from the litany of exploitative military accounts by avoiding political grandstanding or vicarious violence in favor of a remarkably intimate and often heart-pounding narrative. Despite this being his debut, Tellessen is able to use the deft touch of a seasoned writer to relay his story in a way that feels universal and yet wholly personal. This book will stay at the front of my mind and my shelf for years to come." (James Wade, Spur award-winning author of All Things Left Wild and River, Sing Out)

"Tellessen’s memoir opens at the cyclic rate and never lets up. Freaks of a Feather is a book that you’ll stick in your cargo pocket and never leave more than one arm’s distance until you’ve read it cover-to-cover." (Major Thomas Schueman, USMC infantry officer and English instructor at the Naval Academy)

A look into what it was really like

As an Iraq veteran I haven’t read many books about the war, but this one captured my attention from the start. Kacey descriptively explains what felt like my own personal journey as a young man going to the Marine Corps looking for heroism and glory. Great book! Thanks for writing it!

An irreverent and real look at life in a combat unit

This book captures the fighting spirit of boys who voluntarily force themselves into manhood. It’s an egotistical memoir (not in a bad way) that is honest about how young men think before, during, and after wartime.

Honest telling of expectations and reality

Imagine Ralphie goes to Iraq type dialogue and narration. Brought up many feelings I had forgotten and shows a familiar tape that all Marines will recognize.

A very personal and moving memoir

If you’ve never served in a war zone, or even if you have, this story walks you through that experience in a very raw, personal and, sometimes, graphic way. The author is honest, reflective and sharing and doesn’t mask what a tour is like and how it impacted himself, his friends and his family. Patrick Kirchner’s narration was well paced, emotional and told as only a fellow Marine could tell. This story will make you cry, make you laugh and, most importantly, make you think about what war does to soldiers, both in the field and when they return home. Thank you Kacy for sharing your story and thank you Patrick for your narration.

An honest telling of war and the struggle after.

To truly listen to this tale will change a person's perception of what those of us who go to war feel, live and hide. Kacy is brutally honest in his words and gives voice to many of us who have been there, done that and really can't explain.