Author: Peter Bourret

Publisher:

Published: 2020-09-18

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13:

When Bourret, a retired high school English teacher, was preparing to publish his "Jello's Nam: A Memoir" in 2018, he realized that, although he had left the Nam in 1968, the Nam had not left him, so he decided to write this sequel, which focuses on his circuitous road to healing. On his long odyssey, he would wrestle with his formidable PTSD demons. His journey began 22 years after his return from Vietnam, where he fought as a Marine during the 1968 Tet Offensive. In 1990, after having a flashback that terrified him, he realized that he needed to face his emotional pain from his war experiences. His journey would take him to war-torn Bosnia, back to Vietnam twice, and to the Vietnam Memorial. Many life lessons awaited this high school English teacher on his thirty-year search for healing. On his long journey, many people showed up in his life when he needed help with his healing process; he referred to these experiences as "corpsman, up!" moments . Likewise, he was also there to help one of his Nam friends, who had buried his Nam pain. Bourret, also chose to work with other vets, who were suffering from PTSD, as a volunteer teacher at his local VA. Fortunately, Bourret's tenacious nature and his resilient spirit served him well as he came to terms with his survivor's guilt, which had been brought on by the loss of 14 members of his battalion during a battle on May 19, 1968. With the help of Prolonged Exposure Therapy, he processed his grief, which led him to discover that life is a gift and that he had truly been blessed. With his new perspective, Bourret began to focus on finding ways to honor his fallen fellow Marines.