Rough Enough is a work of historical non-fiction detailing ten years in the life of Richard McBee's great grandfather, a teenager who goes off half cocked to fight the Civil War Richard Clow is 17 when the excitement of the final year of Civil War conflict entices him to enlist in the Union Army. Very quickly he finds that even getting to the battle front can have its own challenges: tewo weeks in a thug dominated holding camp followed by the ship voyage from Hell in getting from Boston to the Petersburg front. His thirteen letters home to his sisters describe poignant military experiences, bloody battles to take Petersburg, close calls, and the stresses of war. These are mingled with his daily observations of the Virginian countryside, hardships and small joys by a young man who has a flair for description. The accompanying text documents the changes from snotty nosed youth to blooded infantryman. It describes parallel battle situations and how the stresses of the battlefield lead Richard Clow towards a "Soldier's Heart" PTSD type syndrome. What is it that makes this young man reenlist two years after the war and join the 13th Infantry fighting in the mountains and plains of Montana and the Dakotas from ill designed forts. As his heart grows weary of battles, Clow shares his dreams of married life with his sister as he describes yet another ambush oo travelers through Indian territory. Clow's post military marital bliss is cut short by the specter of death which nearly wipes out his immediate family. With a heavy heart he again seeks solace in the wilderness and the cold creeks and gun ruled world of Deadwood in the heart of the Black Hills gold rush. As he strikes it rich and then goes on to live out his dreams of being a farmer, rancher and Oregon hotelier, we see how perseverance in the face of overwhelming life struggles can lead to a family and forty more years of productive life on the waning frontier.