My Tour In Hell

the long version

Author Powell enlisted with the US Marines in April 1966. His journey from naive civilian to battle-hardened combat veteran shows us how fragile our humanity really is. In addition to killing the enemy, he was witness to countless cruelties, including cold-blooded, casual murder, cowardice under fire, and callous disregard for life. Upon returning to civilian life after two years, he found himself with nightmares, intrusive thoughts, an exaggerated startle reaction, and a seeming inability to control basic emotions. The price he paid for what would be diagnosed only decades later as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was broken marriages and relationships, inability to hold down jobs, and alcohol abuse. In 1989, David recovered through a simple but powerful technique known as Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) and is now symptom-free. His story shows what is possible for anyone who has suffered traumatic stress, and that hope, healing, and recovery can be theirs too.--From publisher description.