"Courage after Fire for Parents of Service Members empowers those of us who are the parents of a returning veteran with vital information and hands-on strategies to better understand and support our sons and daughters after they return home from warzone deployments. A must-read for every parent of an active duty service member or veteran."
-Belle Landau, executive director of Returning Veterans Project and mother of an OIF Veteran
"Written by a remarkable team of mental health professionals with extensive experience in serving veterans and their families, Courage After Fire for Parents of Service Members is a treasure trove of information and wisdom for parents of service members returning home from war. Similar to its predecessor, Courage After Fire, written for service members themselves, this sequel offers compassionate understanding, critical information and insights, as well as practical advice for how to survive and even thrive following combat deployment."
-Douglas K. Snyder, PhD, is professor of clinical psychology at Texas A&M University in College Station and coeditor of Couple Based Interventions for Military and Veteran Families: A Practitioner's Guide
"As a parent of two Operation Enduring Freedom veterans, and as a chaplain who has both served in combat and ministered to thousands of families of combat veterans, I can attest to the need for a guide for parents on how to help their sons and daughters when they return from combat. Parents will greatly benefit from the valuable information in this book. I wish we had this book a decade ago. It fills a huge void."
-CH (COL) John Morris, JFHQ Chaplain, Minnesota National Guard and parent of two OEF Veterans
"Domenici, Best and Armstrong attend to the forgotten family members of our warfighters-their parents-with compassion, wisdom, and clarity. No matter how old they are or their circumstances, [service members] are someone's children who need help, which this book provides."
-Charles R. Figley, PhD, former USMC SGT, Vietnam Veteran, Tulane University Distinguished Professor, and Kurzweg Chair in Disaster Mental Health
"Fantastic resource! A must-read for every parent with a returning daughter or son. The authors have taken a very complex and critical topic and converted it into an easy reference guide that parents can use to tailor to their family situation. Courage After Fire for Parents of Service Members is loaded with insightful suggestions, practical tips, and useful advice that will help parents and service members more successfully navigate their journey together."
-Alan V. Rogers, Major General, USAF(Ret)
"Courage After Fire for Parents of Service Members gives parents the hope that troubling behaviors and changes will improve over time; it gives them the tools to address their own issues and their service members' issues in constructive, patient ways. I wish my mother had this book when I came home from Vietnam…. She would have been less troubled, and I would have been less guilty about how my anxieties hurt her."
-Anthony Hare, PsyD, Vietnam Veteran and Executive Director of the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California, Berkeley
"At once poignant, enlightening, and instructive for anyone with family or friends in the military! This book is destined to become the authoritative manual for dealing with pre and post deployment issues."
-Nancy Totman, Blue Star Mom of Navy Submariner
"This beautiful book is a must-read for all parents whose children live and work in harm's way. The authors help parents grasp the wounds war inflicts and the challenges of adjustment after deployment."
-Sue Johnson, EdD, professor at Alliant International University and University of Ottawa, Canada, and author of Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
"Courage after Fire for Parents of Service Members is the guide every parent must have to cope with the enlistment and deployments of their children, and is something I wish my parents had when I deployed to Afghanistan in 2005. This book shows parents how to do what they have always done throughout their children's lives-take care of them and protect them-especially now, when they need their parents the most."
-Derek Blumke, cofounder of Student Veterans of America and Former Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs VITAL Initiative
"Whether you're a parent, other family member, or good friend of a service member or veteran who is struggling with readjustment, this much-needed book can help you understand more about what your loved one is going through and show you how you can better assist him or her in coping with the psychological and physical injuries that can result from going to war. Strongly recommended!"
-Josef I. Ruzek, PhD, director of the National Center for PTSD Dissemination and Training Division, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, and associate professor, Pacific Graduate School for Psychology
"This extraordinary work will help the men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan find the courage to rebuild their lives and be successful. As a Vietnam War veteran, I wish it had been available when I came home. I have seen too many lives changed by war and not enough help after returning home. As the former Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, I wish every returning veteran and their family would read it. This book has been needed for many years and is invaluable for our troops and their loved ones."
-The Honorable Anthony J. Principi, Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs
"Courage After Fire is for those who survived being under fire in war and are trying to survive being strangers at home. This wonderful book, starting with a heartfelt foreword by Senator Bob Dole, serves as a virtual owner's manual for returning OEF/OIF war veterans. Courage After Fire is packed with practical information, culled from hundreds of informed sources, and is written by three seasoned and sensitive practitioners and military veteran advocates. If you ever felt or said you "supported the troops," no matter what your political view, show some tangible support and buy this book for at least one returning veteran."
-Charles R. Figley, Ph.D., Florida State University Traumatology Institute Director
"Courage After Fire is essential reading for all recent combat veterans, their families and friends. Military chaplains, employers, and clinicians at VA Hospitals and Vet Centers should also familiarize themselves with this book. Every recent combat vet and many of their family members will find a description of themselves to some degree in the pages of this book. Courage After Fire provides a toolbox of useful insights and coping exercises that can assist in saving a marriage or putting a veteran's life back on track. Courage After Fire should be issued to all returning veterans and Family Support Groups."
-Major Andy Johnson U.S. Army, Special Forces Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran
"Courage After Fire offers both returning veterans and their families a clear understanding of the challenges that lie ahead and a practical guide for reintegration into home, work and community. The scope of this book is supremely thorough and relevant, particularly to National Guard and Reservists. I am particularly pleased to see useful tips provided not only to family members, but employers as well, to assist them in their efforts to support our heroes of war. I highly recommend this book to deploying soldiers of all branches, their families and employers before, during and after deployment."
-Lieutenant General (Ret) (RI) Reginald A. Centracchio, Former Adjutant General of the State of Rhode Island Former Commanding General of the Rhode Island National Guard
"Getting back to 'normal' is one of the hardest things returning vets have to go through after coming home from war. No matter where you are in this process, Courage After Fire can help if you let it. Take what suggestions work for you from the many tips offered in this book- you may be surprised how much they can help."
-SGT Victoria Steen, USAR, Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran
"Courage After Fire is unique. It addresses the complete range of issues faced by returning National Guard and Reservist troops who are confronted with the difficulties of readjusting to their work and communities while, at the same time, dealing with the psychological ramifications of war. This book has excellent tips and an extensive list of resources for all returning veterans and those who care about them."
-William M. Coughran Brigadier General California Air National Guard U.S.A.F. Reserve, Ret.
"Returning home from Vietnam to my wife and family was both joyful and confusing. I felt estranged despite having a supportive community of friends and family. Although I already had set goals and a plan for my life, I had difficulty staying focused and on the right path. Courage after Fire provides a much needed roadmap to guide veterans and their families back to their life's path and the tools and strategies necessary to bring them truly home again."
-Phillip Butler, Vietnam Veteran
"Courage After Fire is an indispensable guide for troops returning from war. Specific suggestions are offered for veterans and their family members about getting perspective on the war experience, dealing with troubling memories, reconnecting emotionally with loved ones, and reentering the community. Courage After Fire invites partners and family members to be a part of their veterans' healing process, which makes it all the more effective. I wish this book were standard issue for all returning troops and for all health professionals, members of the clergy, and counselors who are in a position to support their transition home."
-Robert-Jay Green, PhD, Distinguished Professor, California School of Professional Psychology, 2001 Award Recipient for Distinguished Contributions to Family Research, American Family Therapy Academy
"Courage After Fire is the first comprehensive roadmap to recovery and reintegration for the men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The authors bring their collective experience, wisdom and compassion in their work with traumatized veterans and their families to create a personal dialogue with those struggling to rebuild their lives after combat. Every generation of warriors from those who fought in Homer's time to those arriving from the Gulf today have asked the same questions: Why do I feel like a stranger in my own family and community What do I do when I am too tired to keep running from my memories yet too afraid to face them If I admit I am having emotional problems, will I lose face and damage my career Courage After Fire provides answers to these and many more questions and the tools to master a safe passage for all veterans on their journey home."
-Charles R. Marmar, M.D., Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry, UCSF Associate Chief of Staff and Director, PTSD Research Program, San Francisco VA Medical Center
"Courage after Fire provides critical information and practical skills for dealing with the emotional aftermath of recent wars. The specific focus on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans makes the material fresh and accessible. This book address a comprehensive range of areas of potential distress and concern for returning service men and women, giving them concrete and useful techniques for dealing with these issues in an active, empowering way. I feel certain that Courage after Fire will become an important source of information and self-healing for our returning troops."
-Bonnie L. Green, PhD Director, Georgetown University Center for Trauma and the Community