Check out the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien from the library.

We read the first chapter, titled "The Things They Carried," aloud in class, discussing issues/questions as they came up.
Focused on the weights O'Brien mentions and the different categories of "things" they carry (physical things, mental things, emotional things) and the sub-categories (personal items, military issued items, weaponry, talismans/good luck charms).

Note: although this is a true story, it is also a fictional story. On the title page it is called "a work of fiction." This duality is one of the aspects of postmodern literature. As we read farther into the book, watch for ways in which this dichotomy plays out.