Book picks similar to
Down Range: To Iraq and Back by Bridget C. Cantrell


military
non-fiction
nonfiction
clinical-psychology

Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families


Keith Armstrong - 2005
    However, often forgotten is the courage required by veterans when they return home and suddenly face reintegration into their families, workplaces, and communities. Authored by three mental health professionals with many years of experience counseling veterans, Courage After Fire provides strategies and techniques for this challenging journey home.Courage After Fire 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. It details state-of-the-art treatments for these difficulties and outlines specific ways to improve couple and family relationships. It also offers tips on areas such as rejoining the workforce and reconnecting with children.“A crucial tool for the men and women who have been serving our country so VALIANTLY during these past years.”—Senator Bob Dole, from the foreword“This extraordinary work will help the men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan find the COURAGE to rebuild their lives and be successful.” —Honorable Anthony J. Principi, Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Once a Warrior--Always a Warrior: Navigating the Transition from Combat to Home--Including Combat Stress, PTSD, and mTBI


Charles W. Hoge - 2010
    It’s with this truth that Colonel Charles W. Hoge, MD, a leading advocate for eliminating the stigma of mental health care, presents Once a Warrior—Always a Warrior, a groundbreaking resource with essential new insights for anyone who has ever returned home from a war zone. In clear practical language, Dr. Hoge explores the latest knowledge in combat stress, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury), other physiological reactions to war, and their treatment options. Recognizing that warriors and family members both change during deployment, he helps them better understand each other’s experience, especially living with enduring survival skills from the combat environment that are often viewed as “symptoms” back home. The heart of this book focuses on what’s necessary to successfully navigate the transition—“LANDNAV” for the home front. Once a Warrior—Always a Warrior shows how a warrior’s knowledge and skills are vital for living at peace in an insane world.

Chickenhawk: Back in the World Again: Life After Vietnam


Robert Mason - 1994
    Follow-up to _Chickenhawk_ covers his post-Vietnam struggles with PTSD and civilian life.

Hunters: U.S. Snipers in the War on Terror


Milo S. Afong - 2010
     The ongoing War on Terror is unlike any conflict the United States Armed Forces have fought. There are no set battles. The enemy adheres to no warrior code or international law. Their only desire is to kill- or be killed. That's where the snipers of the U.S. Marine, Army, and Navy SEALs come in... Here in their own words are the compelling and gripping true stories of the snipers whose sole purpose is to eliminate any and all enemy threats with a single bullet. From the deserts and rubble-strewn streets of Iraq to the endless labyrinth of the remote Afghanistan mountain country, this is life and death beyond the front lines of battle and behind the scope of a high-powered rifle.

The Hard Way: Adapt, Survive and Win


Mark Billingham - 2019
    A giant of a man!’ – Bear Grylls 'The most experienced Special Forces soldier in recent memory. The Hard Way is brutally brilliant.' – Tom Marcus, Number One bestselling author of Soldier Spy Billy Billingham grew up tough; a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked. Leaving school at eleven years of age, the threat of borstal hanging over his head, running with gangs in Birmingham, and almost being killed in a knife fight eventually led to Billy discovering the British armed forces at sixteen years of age. It would be the making of him.   Billingham would graduate from the Royal Marine cadets to enlisting with the Parachute Regiment in 1983, where he would serve with distinction as a Patrol Commander and expert sniper. In 1991 he took on an even bigger challenge – taking the SAS course – the fearsome and secretive elite special forces unit with a well-won reputation for excellence in operating in extreme and hazardous conditions. He excelled in this life, rising to the rank of sergeant major for the regiment, and undertaking dozens of classified and extremely dangerous missions. He would ultimately serve seventeen years with the SAS, serving in countless war zones, winning a commendation for bravery and being awarded the MBE. After leaving the army he would embrace the life of a bodyguard to Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Sir Michael Caine, Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, before being recruited as one of the lead instructors on SAS - Who Dares Wins for television.   Billy is a highly-decorated veteran; with a reputation for excellence, honesty and integrity not only supporting his comrades Ant Middleton, Jason Fox and Ollie Ollerton, but equally intimidating and inspiring the contestants who take on the gruelling challenges each week. The Hard Way details Billy’s story thus far, but will also educate and enthral those wishing to seek a challenge and conquer it – the SAS way.

Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead


Jim Mattis - 2019
    Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas--and short-sighted thinking--now facing our nation. He makes it clear why America must return to a strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars.Mattis divides his book into three parts: Direct Leadership, Executive Leadership, and Strategic Leadership. In the first part, Mattis recalls his early experiences leading Marines into battle, when he knew his troops as well as his own brothers. In the second part, he explores what it means to command thousands of troops and how to adapt your leadership style to ensure your intent is understood by your most junior troops so that they can own their mission. In the third part, Mattis describes the challenges and techniques of leadership at the strategic level, where military leaders reconcile war's grim realities with political leaders' human aspirations, where complexity reigns and the consequences of imprudence are severe, even catastrophic.Call Sign Chaos is a memoir of a life of warfighting and lifelong learning, following along as Mattis rises from Marine recruit to four-star general. It is a journey about learning to lead and a story about how he, through constant study and action, developed a unique leadership philosophy, one relevant to us all.

Embarrassing Confessions of a Marine Lieutenant: Operation Branding Iron 2.1A


Donny O'Malley - 2015
    (Continued from National Geographic's "Battlefield Afghanistan")This is undoubtedly the most honest and raw account of an Officer's thoughts and actions during combat that has ever been written. After publishing this book, Donny O'Malley's job options are now reduced to low level sales and day labor construction. It is still unclear how he ever made it out of the Marines without court martial.Senior officer's will slam him, military historians will be shocked, and all civilians will be 100% certain he's psychotic.Fortunately, the book is written for the opposite of those mentioned above. It’s written for Enlisted guys.Officers who are brave enough to read will either cry themselves to sleep, jerk themselves off to Donny's picture, or will ask their buddies to write them up for an award with V for having the moral courage to finish the book."My moto boner is still raging strong and I read this book three days ago. I'm certain that my dick is going to explode, and I really don't care, because this book was that fucking good."-Marine I served with."858-555-5555- Hey bro that's my wife's phone number. You can fuck her whenever you want, just wear a condom and try not to blow anywhere near the face. I understand mistakes happen, but do your best. Thanks for writing the book, I really needed that." -Marine I never served with"Just wanted to say that your book is cracking me up. I think the people on the subway think I'm nuts because I can't stop uncontrollably laughing. I think I crack up because I know your jabroni ass and know that the shit you write about that is going on in your head is true, no bullshit. You are completely fucked up, in the good way. If people were to question if you were making this up I could say that it's no bullshit because I spent enough time with you to know that you beat off 10 times a day. I slept above you on ship and heard you beating dick all the time. Fuck it, what man doesn't beat off constantly?It's raw and honest. Like you said, as professional as all of us try to be (officers especially) deep down we are fuckin animals, neanderthals who just love pussy and talking about sucking dick, in a gay way, and when we get the chance, killing bad guys. Anyone who denies that, other than maybe the Col, is a fuckin liar.......PS-your description of Major Dyce is spot on... fuckin moron. Someone should have blew him up." -Lieutenant I served with.A message from the author-This book is a reach-around to all enlisted, and a FUCK YOU to every Officer who has ever written a politically correct, full-of-shit, “I’m a great leader,” book about combat. Every single one of those fucking jerkoffs wrote a book for civilians that not a single enlisted guy ever gave two-shits about. The truth is that Marines love killing more than they love pussy; they fantasize about mowing down insurgents with a 240 on post while 70 virgins take turns blowing them.This is who we are, and I’m sick and tired of nerdy ass book writers hiding our reality from the public.

War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation's Veterans from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder


Edward Tick - 2005
    Such vets typically can’t hold jobs. They are incapable of intimacy, creative work, and self-realization. Some can’t leave the house because they are afraid they will kill or be killed. The key to healing, says psychotherapist Ed Tick, is in how we understand PTSD. In war’s overwhelming violence, the soul—the true self—flees and can become lost for life. He redefines PTSD as a true identity disorder, with radical implications for therapy. First, Tick establishes the traditional context of war in mythology and religion. Then he describes in depth PTSD in terms of identity issues. Finally, drawing on world spiritual traditions, he presents ways to nurture a positive identity based in compassion and forgiveness. War and the Soul will change the way we think about war, for veterans and for all those who love and want to help them. It shows how to make the wounded soul whole again. When this work is achieved, PTSD vanishes and the veteran can truly return home.

The Wars of the Green Berets: Amazing Stories from Vietnam to the Present Day


Robin Moore - 2007
    They take us from firefights on the Cambodian border during the Vietnam War to the streets and alleyways of Iraq today. They teach us what it was really like to patrol the streets of Mogadishu in the days of Black Hawk Down. They show the horror that was Saddam’s Iraq during the first Gulf War. They take us to the moonscape that is Afghanistan in search of the Taliban. The Wars of the Green Berets continues the saga of Moore’s classic The Green Berets, revealing more than a few tantalizing secrets and anecdotes for the first time.

The Forever War


Dexter Filkins - 2008
    We go into the homes of suicide bombers and into street-to-street fighting with a battalion of marines. We meet Iraqi insurgents, an American captain who loses a quarter of his men in eight days, and a young soldier from Georgia on a rooftop at midnight reminiscing about his girlfriend back home. A car bomb explodes, bullets fly, and a mother cradles her blinded son.Like no other book, The Forever War allows us a visceral understanding of today’s battlefields and of the experiences of the people on the ground, warriors and innocents alike. It is a brilliant, fearless work, not just about America’s wars after 9/11, but ultimately about the nature of war itself.

On Full Automatic: Surviving 13 Months in Vietnam


William V. Taylor Jr. - 2021
    Taylor Jr. and his brother Marines are assembled into a new reaction force that is immediately tested in the fire of a bloody conflict known as Operation Beaver Cage. After a traumatic first fight, they push through back-to-back operations with little time to rest or reflect. Those who survive will return home ensnared by everlasting memories of a real, but entirely surreal nightmare. Now after more than fifty years of holding everything in, Taylor shares his experience in explicit and often horrific detail and with a reverent honor for those Marines who did not live to tell the tale.Taylor reveals what it truly means to walk the path of a warrior, to sacrifice, and to live a lifetime with the memories of a war—seeking answers to the question, “Was it worth it?"

Hinch Yourself Happy: All The Best Cleaning Tips To Shine Your Sink And Soothe Your Soul


Mrs. Hinch - 2019
    Discover how to transform your home. Cleaning doesn't have to be that job you dread. Not when Mrs Hinch is here to show you her sparkly ways.Mrs Hinch has taken the nation by storm with her infectiously addictive charm, clever cleaning hacks and her passionate belief in the life-changing magic of tidying.With the help of her cloth family, Mrs Hinch will help you turn your house into a home. Whether you're a daily duster or looking for a monthly makeover, HINCH YOURSELF HAPPY shows you how to create not only a cleaner house, but a calmer you.If you want your kitchen to sparkle like Meghan Markle, then this is the book for you.

Waiting Wives: The Story of Schilling Manor, Home Front to the Vietnam War


Donna Moreau - 2005
    Author Donna Moreau was the daughter of one such waiting wife, and here she writes of growing up at a time when The Flintstones were interrupted with news of firefights, fraggings, and protests, when the evening news announced death tolls along with the weather forecasts. The women and children of Schilling Manor fought on the emotional front of the war. It was not a front composed of battle plans and bullets. Their enemies were fear, loneliness, lack of information, and the slow tick of time. Waiting Wives: The Story of Schilling Manor, Home Front to the Vietnam War tells the story of the last generation of hat-and-glove military wives called upon by their country to pack without question, to follow without comment, and to wait quietly with a smile. A heartfelt book that focuses on this other, hidden side of war, Waiting Wives is a narrative investigation of an extraordinary group of women. A compelling memoir and domestic drama, Waiting Wives is also the story of a country in the midst of change, of a country at war with a war.

Scapegoats of the Empire: The True Story of Breaker Morant's Bushveldt Carbineers


George Witton - 1907
    The story was made into a movie in 1980, "Breaker Morant," starring Edward Woodward, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, and Jack Thompson. 240 pp. printed on cream acid-free paper. Illustrated with half-tone photographs. First Clock & Rose trade edition in paperback, preceded by a limited edition of 1,000, individually numbered, and first trade edition in hardcover. The Clock & Rose Press edition is published and printed in the USA.

Battle Scars: A Story of War and All That Follows


Jason Fox - 2018
    The events depicted took place during the last decade in an unnamed warzone. The names and locations have been redacted to protect the security of those involved and the practices of the British Special Forces. Out of respect for the KIA and survivors, everything else has been told as it happened…Jason Fox served with the SBS for over a decade, thriving on the close bonds of the Special Forces brotherhood and the ‘death or glory’ nature of their missions.Battle Scars tells the story of his career as an elite operator, from the gunfights, hostage rescues, daring escapes and heroic endeavours that defined his service, to a battle of a very different kind: the psychological devastation of combat that ultimately forced him to leave the military, and the hard reality of what takes place in the mind of a man once a career of imagined invincibility has come to an end.Unflinchingly honest, Battle Scars is a breathtaking account of Special Forces soldiering: a chronicle of operational bravery, and of superhuman courage on and off the battlefield.