The Fire Within: Shedding Light on Trauma
I recently had the privilege of writing the foreword for a new book, The Fire Within: Shedding Light on Trauma, and recommend anyone interested in learning more about Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and those who experience traumatic events add it to their reading list.
This book is a collection of stories by members of the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and the independent security contracting world. The storytellers are officers and enlisted members who were infantry, medics, scouts, intelligence, support, forward observers, artillery, mortars and a SEAL. Some authors know each other like family. Others have never met. Some deployed together and others were deployed to different places in different years. These stories about war, trauma, and life show that there’s a lot more to the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) than previously thought.
While most service members who serve in the military do not have PTS and the majority of Americans who experience PTS never served in the military, this book shares stories that everyone can relate to. I encourage folks to add this book to their reading list; especially, those Americans who may not know members of the military. Pick up a copy and get to know the men and women who have bravely shared their stories in hopes of helping and inspiring others.
Writing the foreword for the book was truly an honor and I include an excerpt below:
This book is a collection of stories by members of the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and the independent security contracting world. The storytellers are officers and enlisted members who were infantry, medics, scouts, intelligence, support, forward observers, artillery, mortars and a SEAL. Some authors know each other like family. Others have never met. Some deployed together and others were deployed to different places in different years. These stories about war, trauma, and life show that there’s a lot more to the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) than previously thought.
While most service members who serve in the military do not have PTS and the majority of Americans who experience PTS never served in the military, this book shares stories that everyone can relate to. I encourage folks to add this book to their reading list; especially, those Americans who may not know members of the military. Pick up a copy and get to know the men and women who have bravely shared their stories in hopes of helping and inspiring others.
Writing the foreword for the book was truly an honor and I include an excerpt below:
Everyone has a story.
It’s one of the things that makes us human, and humans have shared stories since the beginning of time. Regardless of where we come from, who we are, or what we do for a living, if we could all share our stories, we would likely find more in common with each other than we would expect.
For me, my story includes service to my country in the U.S. military. Because of this service, I am by definition, a veteran.
There are 21.8 million other Americans whose service also warrants the label of veteran. Like any label, “veteran” often conjures a certain image in a person’s mind. That image is usually based on what they’ve seen in the movies, television, or media. What many do not realize is that being a veteran isn’t my, or any veteran’s, entire story.
In addition to being a veteran, I am the first in my family to graduate from a four-year college; I am a proud father and husband; I volunteer in my local community in Alexandria, Virginia; and I lead a national nonprofit organization focused on veteran empowerment, called Got Your 6. Despite serving in uniform for more than a decade, including my time as a cadet at West Point, I’ve actually spent the majority of my life outside the military. Being a veteran is an important chapter of my life, but it’s certainly not the whole book.
Pick up your own copy of The Fire Within to read more.
It’s one of the things that makes us human, and humans have shared stories since the beginning of time. Regardless of where we come from, who we are, or what we do for a living, if we could all share our stories, we would likely find more in common with each other than we would expect.
For me, my story includes service to my country in the U.S. military. Because of this service, I am by definition, a veteran.
There are 21.8 million other Americans whose service also warrants the label of veteran. Like any label, “veteran” often conjures a certain image in a person’s mind. That image is usually based on what they’ve seen in the movies, television, or media. What many do not realize is that being a veteran isn’t my, or any veteran’s, entire story.
In addition to being a veteran, I am the first in my family to graduate from a four-year college; I am a proud father and husband; I volunteer in my local community in Alexandria, Virginia; and I lead a national nonprofit organization focused on veteran empowerment, called Got Your 6. Despite serving in uniform for more than a decade, including my time as a cadet at West Point, I’ve actually spent the majority of my life outside the military. Being a veteran is an important chapter of my life, but it’s certainly not the whole book.
Pick up your own copy of The Fire Within to read more.