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Reviewed by Tom Berger, Chair
VVA PTSD & Substance Abuse Committee
No one returns home
from war unchanged, and many troops find coming home to be
more of a challenge than life in the combat zone. Two experts
from the National Center for PTSD, Drs. Matthew Friedman
and Laurie Stone, have put together an easy-to-read and practical
guide to help service members, their families and communities
adjust after deployment in a war zone.
Drawing
upon their years of research and clinical experience with
Vietnam and Persian Gulf veterans suffering from traumatic
stress and readjustment issues, they provide valuable lessons
learned, tips, ideas, and advice for “anyone who wonders
what to expect when a service member returns home from a
war zone and how they can help when the going gets tough.” The
authors wrote the book “in the hope that it will educate
and guide a wide range of people.” It does that very
well indeed and without a lot of technical jargon.
Although
After the War Zone is designed to be read beginning to end,
the book’s organization allows the reader to
easily locate and read about specific topics, such as PTSD
or helping children cope with deployment. The authors describe
the stages of the “emotional cycle” of deployment
and how they affect the family and the service member. The
myths that troops and their families believe about homecoming
and the most common challenges faced during the first few
months home are discussed, as well as the emotional difficulties
and challenges of dealing with physical and psychological
injuries.
The book offers a variety of coping strategies to
help veterans and their families manage transition issues,
a glossary of technical terms frequently encountered in mental
health publications, and a valuable resource section that
provides information about where to find services available
to troops and their families. There also is a section on
community support—lessons
and advice for community members who want to help returning
veterans and their families—and one entitled “For
Those Facing Unique Challenges” with information for
women and minority service members.
After the War Zone fills
an important gap. Many other books discuss readjustment challenges
after deployment, but the great majority are written from
the perspective of an individual who has experienced deployment.
After the War Zone follows a more general overview because
the authors believe that each service member and family member’s
experience is different.
This book should be provided to every service
member, National Guard member, and reservist called to active
duty in a war zone. It is also a must read for any individual,
agency, or organization wanting to help our troops and their
families in their transition from active duty.
Dr. Friedman
will be presenting a seminar, “Post War
Integration: From Battlemind to PTSD,” at the VVA National
Leadership Conference in Greenville.
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2008, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910