The Wounds Within
A Veteran, a PTSD Therapist, and a Nation Unprepared
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- 15,99 €
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- 15,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
As America’s longest wars end, hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Wounds Within follows the iconic case of Marine Lance Corporal Jeff Lucey, who deployed early in the Iraq War, battled PTSD after returning home, and set his family on a decade-long campaign to reform the Veterans Affairs system and end the stigma around military-related mental health issues. Their story is told uniquely from the perspective of Jeff’s psychotherapist, Mark Nickerson, an internationally recognized expert on trauma treatment.
Driven by the family narrative, and by later case histories of Nickerson’s veteran clients, the book explains PTSD and the methods by which it can be treated. With coauthor Joshua Goldstein, an award-winning author, Nickerson engages the big issues of America’s attempts to cope with the millions of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan—from belated reforms to overwhelmed military families to clueless civilians who can’t get beyond “Thank you for your service.”
The Wounds Within combines a moving and compelling human drama with national policy and a clinical explanation of how to heal veterans’ traumas. It will stand as the definitive account of PTSD in those who fought America’s latest wars, and a much-needed source of information for their loved ones.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nickerson, a Massachusetts psychotherapist who specializes in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, and Goldstein (Winning the War on War), American University emeritus professor of international relations, relate the tragic story of Nickerson's former patient, Marine Lance Corporal Jeff Lucey, who committed suicide not long after returning from a horrific 2003 tour of duty in Iraq. Telling this story in the first person, Nickerson provides background on PTSD, including the shameful way the American public, the federal government, and the old-line veterans' organizations treated veterans of the Vietnam War. Neglect and scorn led to disproportionately high numbers of PTSD among Vietnam veterans, and though veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan did not return home to the same kind of negative reception as Vietnam vets did, far too many have had significant post-war emotional problems. The bulk of the book is an account of the Lucey family's mission in the wake of the suicide, trying to promote "the healing process" by telling Lucey's story "in the hopes that others might reach a different outcome." Nickerson admirably sheds light on a sad story as he offers practical advice for veterans and families coping with post-war emotional trauma.
