A harrow is an agricultural implement – a heavy wooden rake that is dragged over plowed land to break up and smooth the surface. In a figurative sense, we use harrowing to describe something that ravages, plunders; causes extreme pain or distress. As I used it today: “I’ll be in Myrtle Beach for a week in October, a yearly get-together with some life-long friends, playing golf, watching football, talking shit, and reminiscing. We’ll rehash old stories about the halcyon days of high school. And there may be some private conversations about the harrowing days in Vietnam.”