Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts

This book is crafted around soldiers' stories of their war experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan that culminate in life-altering injuries to the brain and psyche, along with the equally dramatic story of their recoveries. An irony of America's 21st century wars has been that while our combat medical and medevac capabilities have grown enormously (from a rough average of 4:1 wounded to dead in WWII to 8:1 today), the nature of many of our soldiers' wounds has undergone a subtle change. Men and women who survive the thick of combat, including repeated concussions, increasingly present a difficult-to-detect kind of injury, no less debilitating then wounds from bullets or shrapnel. This book documents the ever-increasing cases of physical or mental brain trauma among our vets that has risen as a direct result of more soldiers surviving their flesh wounds on the battlefield. The chapters are developed from interviews with troops and their family members, and bridged with essays by mental health professionals, veterans' advocates, and members of the VA and DoD, all of whom are working in the front lines of what is quickly developing into a national crisis of unfathomable cost in both lives and money. All royalties from this work will go directly to the front line of support for wounded warriors with PTSD and TBI, and their families.