Presumed Guilty: A Veteran’s Journey Through False Accusation and Redemption
by Will Noland
I love memoirs and this one caught my attention because I have experience with the military myself. Instantly upon reading the book description, I knew I wanted to hear Noland’s story. “Navy veteran Will Noland lived by honor, courage, and commitment. Until a false accusation turned his world upside down, and left him fighting a silent war for his reputation, his sanity, and his life.”
In Presumed Guilty: A Veteran’s Journey Through False Accusation and Redemption, Nolan writes a profoundly personal and incredibly raw memoir that captivates you from the first page and won’t let go. He takes on a journey through injustice, loneliness, and the difficult process of recovering one’s identity after being wrongfully convicted, all while displaying steadfast courage and searing honesty.
Wrongful conviction in any case would be frustrating, but when serving your country in the highest way is beyond words. I have a family member who was in the Navy and the tenants of honor, bravery, and dedication are things they live by. Nolan, no different, once used these as a compass as well.
But then he was caught off guard by a catastrophic false accusation and his values and tenacity would be put to the test. This book is his story.
It’s split into four parts to help make it easier to read and to follow the timeline: The Storm, The silence, The Survivor’s Road, and The Mission. These parts are followed up with a closing reflection epilogue. In chapter one, we dive right into The Day Everything Changed. He will then walk us through the worst of the storm. He is taken off guard because his accusation didn’t come with any warning or confrontation.
And when the accusation comes, he describes every painful detail in such a visceral way, you will feel like you’re experiencing it too. He was a man falsely accused… but he wasn’t going to take it lying down.
In chapter two, he backs up a bit to tell us about his experience in the Navy and why he joined. I feel like this is an important foundation to provide at this point in the story because it gives us frame of reference of his morals and values, and his motivations in life. He also shares with us how much the military meant to him, giving us a deeper understanding of how hard this loss will be.
In America, we say “innocent until proven guilty”, but in the military, it’s often guilty until proven innocent, and this was unfortunately, Nolan’s experience. He describes being treated presumed guilty, like a problem that needed to be snuffed out. He felt his voice didn’t matter and all the hard work and sacrifice he’d made over the years prior didn’t matter from the moment that accusation was made.
He also shares the social fallout that came from the accusation, as well. This line in particular, really stood out for me: “And it’s a special kind of torture to be erased while you’re still standing in the room.”
As he dives deeper into the ordeal, we also learn how his mental health was deeply impacted by this ordeal. I’ve seen firsthand the toll that service alone can take on a person. I can’t imagine how hard it was to have a false accusation like this. But Nolan walks us through it every step of the way.
And then Part III is the survivor’s road. It’s all about living after the storm, navigating mental health and the VA and so many other important things. Nolan speaks candidly about his experience, his struggles, and how he moved forward after treachery, public humiliation and almost complete erasure of what he had fought for.
Despite the haze of loss and trauma, this story has a positive ending because Noland resisted. He didn’t give up. He rose from the ashes with a new voice and purpose, which you can hear and see for yourself in this memoir.
This memoir is incredibly powerful due to Nolan’s unwavering candor. Even through the most difficult of subjects, he speaks honestly, bluntly and with raw truth. He doesn’t shy away from the dark corners of his experience. This book presents truth, suffering, development, and, in the end, redemption rather than neatly wrapped solutions.
However, there is healing in the middle of the heartache. Anyone who has ever been betrayed, underestimated, or had to start again can find comfort in Noland’s thoughts on resiliency, self-worth, and the strength of inner strength.
Noland’s story has resonance much beyond his own life. He becomes a voice for innumerable others who have been hushed by shame and incredulity or wrongly accused. His autobiography is both a cautionary tale and a beacon of hope – a pressing appeal for change and compassion in the structures that are supposed to uphold, not undermine.
After reading Presumed Guilty, readers will have a tremendous appreciation for the fortitude required to endure injustice and a comprehensive grasp of its costs. More importantly, though, they will depart with hope – the hope that light can return even during our darkest hours.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, it’s a wonderful read for anyone who has been a victim of injustice, for fellow veterans, and for fans of raw memoirs that tell the truth with honesty and tenacity. It’s not always easy to read, but it’s very important to read.