Following is an excerpt from my soon to be published book, Reconciliation: A Son’s Story.
“Your loved ones sometimes come home a different person than they were when they left for combat duty. What can you do now to help them transition back to living a full and productive life? What can you and other family members do to give them comfort and relief from the terrible anxiety and fears they are living with? How do we become paraprofessionals in the mental health business? We have to change, and change is hard. We need more education. We need more coping skills. We need to find patience and love. We need to use outside resources more effectively. We need to recognize symptoms and treat symptoms. War is our legacy too. We “served” as family members. Now it is your turn to fight, a fight that will return your loved one to the person you once knew or to coach them to manage their lives differently and to make adjustments. They put their life at risk and survived; the least we can do is to give them the strength to live on. More importantly, as a loving family member or friend, your commitment and effort could save your life and prevent you from acquiring the same symptoms of PTSD, making this tragedy an intergenerational challenge.”
