As the title suggests, the following stories are about side effects. To some extent, they deal with the prodigious precautions one must take when ingesting medication. But, mostly these stories are about the side effects of life experiences, in particular – war. The direct effects of war fill our graveyards. The side effects are in our hospitals. And for many of us, still in our dreams. These stories are centered in and around Veteran’s Hospitals; they are about my experiences in and after Viet-Nam. However, the side effects of war are not exclusive to the veteran. They are endured (or not) by Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Wives, Husbands, Children and Friends. It is my postulation that for every death in Viet-Nam, thirty to forty people at home feels these side effects. (Side Effects). These stories are not written to slight the Veteran’s Administration, or its staff, as they have been very good to me over the years. They are, however, I hope, an indictment of governments and peoples and their propensity for timelessly throwing young men and women into the nightmare of war.