Laura Kalpakian’s Book Notes music playlist for her memoir Undesirable

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Hanif Abdurraqib, Andrew Sean Greer, Roxane Gay, and many others. Laura Kalpakian’s memoir Undesirable is a moving and profound exploration of her brother’s undesirable military discharge during the Vietnam War, her father’s attempts to change that, and the long-lasting effects of war on both combatants and their families. Paula Becker wrote of the book: “Undesirable is a poignant examination of duty: the author’s father’s to his son, her brother’s to his country, society’s to those who serve, and her own obligation to her father’s memory. This book reminds a new generation that wars fought far away still exact bitter collateral damage from everyone they touch back home.” In her own words, here is Laura Kalpakian’s Book Notes music playlist for…