Courage After Fire for Parents of Service Members

Courage After Fire for Parents of Service Members

Author: Paula Domenici

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

Published: 2013-07-01

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1608827178

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Parents of returning service members may sometimes feel that their voices are not heard. The media is saturated with stories about troops returning from deployment with mental health problems like post-traumatic stress, depression, and substance abuse. Some also return home with physical problems including traumatic brain injury, physical pain or more severe injuries like amputations. Almost all returning service members experience reintegration challenges such as readjusting to family and community, finding employment or attending school. But rarely do we hear how parents are taking on the role of supporting their sons and daughters who have served our country. In countless ways these parents provide help—and when their military child suffers significant physical or psychological injuries, they may once again become their primary caretaker. For mothers and fathers and others in a parenting role, it can be overwhelming at times, and resources are limited. Courage after Fire for Parents of Service Members provides a compassionate and accessible guide for the parents or guardians of returning troops. This groundbreaking book acknowledges the significant contribution and sacrifice parents have made for their military children, provides strategies and resources that will assist them in understanding and supporting their son or daughter, and will validate their own personal experiences. Recommendations for helping them care for their returning service member are woven throughout the book, as well as education about the importance of taking care of themselves to help prevent caregiver burnout. Vignettes and reflections from parents who have had a child deploy offer a sense of hope and community. Even in the best of circumstances, parents play an instrumental role in helping their sons and daughters successfully reintegrate after deployment. This book is a valuable resource for any parent who is seeking to better understand and support a returning military child while caring for themselves.


Courage After Fire

Courage After Fire

Author: Keith Armstrong

Publisher: Ulysses Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1569755132

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Offers soldiers and their families a comprehensive guide to dealing with the all-too-common repercussions of combat duty, including posttraumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.


8 Seconds of Courage

8 Seconds of Courage

Author: Flo Groberg

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-11-07

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1501165887

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Describes the author's childhood relocation from France to the U.S., where as a naturalized citizen he joined the military and served multiple tours in Afghanistan before he was wounded while protecting his patrol from a suicide bomber.


Be Safe, Love Mom

Be Safe, Love Mom

Author: Elaine Lowry Brye

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2015-03-31

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1610395220

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This essential guide for all military families provides helpful advice and reassurance on topics ranging from boot camp, to deployment, to PTSD, from a former "Army brat" turned mother of four military kids. When you enlist in the United States military, you don't just sign up for duty; you also commit your loved ones to lives of service all their own. No one knows this better than Elaine Brye, an "Army brat" turned military wife and the mother of four officers-one each in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. For more than a decade she's endured countless teary goodbyes, empty chairs at Thanksgiving dinners, and sleepless hours waiting for phone calls in the night. She's navigated the complicated tangle of emotions that are part and parcel of life as a military mother. Be Safe, Love Mom braids together Elaine's own personal experiences with those of fellow parents she's met along the way. She offers gentle guidance and hard-earned wisdom on topics ranging from that first anxious goodbye to surrendering all control of your child, from finding comfort in the support of the military community and the healing power of faith to coping with the enormous sacrifices life as a military mother requires. With hard-to-come-by information and encouragement that is like advice from a wise and trusted friend, Be Safe, Love Mom is an essential handbook to membership in a strong and special sisterhood.


Coming Back Together

Coming Back Together

Author: Steven L. Sayers

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

Published: 2014-07-01

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 1608829871

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When a partner or spouse returns from war, it is a time of joy; but it is also a time of transition, challenges, and uncertainty. The truth is that the process of reintegration can last for years, and it can be a particularly difficult time for both returning heroes and their families. If your partner has recently returned from war, or if they will be returning soon, you should be prepared for the unique challenges that lay ahead. Your loved one may suffer from psychological and physical wounds, experience “battlemind,” a condition that leaves them constantly anxious and on-edge, and they may even have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If they are uncommunicative, you may feel like you are living with a stranger, and struggle to recreate the bond of intimacy you once shared. In Coming Back Together, clinical psychologist Steven L. Sayers offers real tools to help you reestablish family routines and build a stronger sense of intimacy with your partner after a military deployment, even if they are resistant to help. The challenges of reintegration can come as a surprise, but you can arm yourself with the skills needed to face this difficult time and help your partner build the resilience needed to heal. This book will be your guide.


For Cause and Comrades

For Cause and Comrades

Author: James M. McPherson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1997-04-03

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0199741050

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General John A. Wickham, commander of the famous 101st Airborne Division in the 1970s and subsequently Army Chief of Staff, once visited Antietam battlefield. Gazing at Bloody Lane where, in 1862, several Union assaults were brutally repulsed before they finally broke through, he marveled, "You couldn't get American soldiers today to make an attack like that." Why did those men risk certain death, over and over again, through countless bloody battles and four long, awful years ? Why did the conventional wisdom -- that soldiers become increasingly cynical and disillusioned as war progresses -- not hold true in the Civil War? It is to this question--why did they fight--that James McPherson, America's preeminent Civil War historian, now turns his attention. He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, the soldiers of the Civil War remained powerfully convinced of the ideals for which they fought throughout the conflict. Motivated by duty and honor, and often by religious faith, these men wrote frequently of their firm belief in the cause for which they fought: the principles of liberty, freedom, justice, and patriotism. Soldiers on both sides harkened back to the Founding Fathers, and the ideals of the American Revolution. They fought to defend their country, either the Union--"the best Government ever made"--or the Confederate states, where their very homes and families were under siege. And they fought to defend their honor and manhood. "I should not lik to go home with the name of a couhard," one Massachusetts private wrote, and another private from Ohio said, "My wife would sooner hear of my death than my disgrace." Even after three years of bloody battles, more than half of the Union soldiers reenlisted voluntarily. "While duty calls me here and my country demands my services I should be willing to make the sacrifice," one man wrote to his protesting parents. And another soldier said simply, "I still love my country." McPherson draws on more than 25,000 letters and nearly 250 private diaries from men on both sides. Civil War soldiers were among the most literate soldiers in history, and most of them wrote home frequently, as it was the only way for them to keep in touch with homes that many of them had left for the first time in their lives. Significantly, their letters were also uncensored by military authorities, and are uniquely frank in their criticism and detailed in their reports of marches and battles, relations between officers and men, political debates, and morale. For Cause and Comrades lets these soldiers tell their own stories in their own words to create an account that is both deeply moving and far truer than most books on war. Battle Cry of Freedom, McPherson's Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the Civil War, was a national bestseller that Hugh Brogan, in The New York Times, called "history writing of the highest order." For Cause and Comrades deserves similar accolades, as McPherson's masterful prose and the soldiers' own words combine to create both an important book on an often-overlooked aspect of our bloody Civil War, and a powerfully moving account of the men who fought it.


Coming Home

Coming Home

Author: Zachary Moon

Publisher: Chalice Press

Published: 2015-05-19

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 0827205392

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Coming home from military service is a process of reconnection and reintegration that is best engaged within a compassionate community. There are almost 20 million veterans and service members living in the United States, including more than one million Americans deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001. Post-war life can be challenging unless there are communities responding with compassion and hospitality. How churches welcome and respond will be critical to the well-being of our nation's veterans, their families, our local communities, and our nation. Zachary Moon, a commissioned military chaplain, has seen the unique challenges for those adjusting to post-war life. In this book, he prepares congregations to mobilize a receptive and restorative ministry with military service members and their families. Designed to be accessible to both clergy and laypersons, this is an ideal resource for individuals or small groups interested in addressing the opportunities and challenges facing veterans and their families. Discussion questions and other resources included will help support small-group dialogue and community building.


Head Space and Timing

Head Space and Timing

Author: Duane K. L. France LPC

Publisher:

Published: 2019-05-26

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 9781070403090

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Every veteran has a story. You just have to listen to it. It can be surprising how difficult it is...and also how easy...for a veteran to be able to tell their story. The impacts of combat, deployments, or even just military experience in general are felt long after a veteran leaves the service. The guns do not always go silent when a veteran leaves the military...neither should the veteran. When combat veteran and retired Army Noncommissioned Officer Duane France retired, he knew he wanted to continue to serve his fellow veterans. As a grandson, nephew, and son of combat veterans, he grew up knowing the impact of combat and military service on veterans and their families, and as a leader with five combat and operational deployments, he saw the same things happening in the service members of his generation. After starting to work as a clinical mental health counselor exclusively for veterans and their spouses, Duane started to write his observations and experiences on his blog, Head Space and Timing, located at www.veteranmentalhealth.com. This book is a collection of 52 articles designed to help veterans, those who support them, and those who care for them to understand the military experience and to change the way they think about veteran mental health.


Courage After Fire for Parents of Service Members

Courage After Fire for Parents of Service Members

Author: Paula Domenici

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 9781461930501

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A guide for parents of returning service members offers strategies and tips for helping veterans reintegrate and cope with the physical and mental trauma they may experience.


After the War Zone

After the War Zone

Author: Laurie B. Slone

Publisher: Hachette+ORM

Published: 2009-04-24

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0786731958

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From the Director and Associate Director of the VA's National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: a highly practical, user-friendly guide that answering all conceivable questions about returning from war--for veterans and families Two experts from the VA National Center for PTSD provide an essential resource for service members, their spouses, families, and communities, sharing what troops really experience during deployment and back home. Pinpointing the most common after-effects of war and offering strategies for troop reintegration to daily life, Drs. Friedman and Slone cover the myths and realities of homecoming; reconnecting with spouse and family; anger and adrenaline; guilt and moral dilemmas; and PTSD and other mental-health concerns. With a wealth of community and government resources, tips, and suggestions, After the War Zone is a practical guide to helping troops and their families prevent war zone stresses from having a lasting negative impact.