The Israeli invasion
I have written nine books, with the first one standing out. The Long Way Home was an account of my own experiences after becoming involved in the events surrounding the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in ’82. I came home as a broken 20-year-old and had already developed severe PTSD. We saw a lot of terrible things down there during the short time I was there.
How writing would help
After many exhausting years, I finally got help, and a very skilled psychologist recommended (among other things) that I wrote down the events I remembered. I thought it was a strange challenge, but I did it. And eventually, words turned into sentences and sentences into pages. I described the things we had done, seen, and heard there, and I linked it to my conversations with the psychologist. In the end, it was a considerable stack of pages.
Terrifying experience
I showed it to my dear sister, Ellen, who told me that this was “tough stuff” and that I absolutely should let others read it. That idea terrified me beyond measure. Exposing my experiences to others was not something I had ever considered. But, no less scared, I did it, and I have never looked back since.
The feedback...
The response was overwhelming. From soldiers, relatives, and even strangers, the feedback came about how important this book was. The book has lived for over twenty years and continues to be published in new editions. New readers continuously read, recognize themselves, recognize someone they know, and hopefully gain hope, comfort, and the assurance that they are not alone with their mental struggles. On the contrary, many of us struggle.
But you already know that, you who are reading this.
The Long Way Home can be bought on Amazon (English edition)
