Out of the P.O.W. Camp But Still Imprisoned

"During WWII, sick, malnourished, separated from my family, I was herded into a cattle car as a 15-year-old P.O.W. and transported to a German camp, where conditions were dismal. I managed to escape that camp on the back of an American Red Cross truck. Frankly, it's a miracle I survived the war.

But survival is not enough. I was out of the P.O.W. camp, but I wasn't free of the experiences. I was changed. I had nightmares. I was young. I was resilient. I was a fighter. But that did not make it possible for me to go back to being a normal schoolboy...

I saw the doctor who suggested I write about my experiences only one time. I was the one who had to do the work. I was the one who had to try to get better. I spent that whole summer immersed in the memories. It took me three months to finish the diary. I wasn't thinking about how the stories would unfold, just that it was very important that I unload them in some way."

I recently contributed to the Huffington Post as a Guest Blogger. My column was on PTSD, and you can read the full piece here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julian-...

You can also check out a clip of me talking about my experience using writing as therapy for my PTSD here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWVTq...