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Invisible: PTSD's Stealth Attack on a Vietnam Veteran: A Candid and Heart-Wrenching Memoir of Life with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
"Invisible" is real life: flashbacks, nightmares, and anger alongside friendship, love, and recovery. Bill Blaylock suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder for years. The ultimate revelation of his malady explained everything: the 39 jobs, the failed marriage, and the fear that prompted him to check the perimeter of his home every night-- even forty years after the war.The book "Invisible: PTSD's Stealth Attack on a Vietnam Veteran" is comfort for every soldier, every wife, every family, and every victim of a stealth disease that wreaks havoc with its gruesome memories, guilt, and loneliness. Despite the horrific experiences, Bill Blaylock has learned to cherish God, family, friends, and country.
214 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
April 29, 2019
Heartfelt, heartbreaking, yet hopeful
For decades we've sent "our boys" to war, broken them in boot camp, shipped them overseas, and expected everything to be normal when they returned. That's a ridiculous expectation, reinforced by the macho beliefs that real men don't regret what they've done or have second thoughts.
Rubbish. Total rubbish.
Vietnam vets had a different war experience than previous generations, both overseas and returning home. Their trauma and difficulties became almost a stereotype, when they should have been respected and supported. As a relative of Vietnam and Vietnam-era vets, knowing what they brought home with them: thank you for your service. Welcome home. I hope you can find your peace.
This book opens up to share the author's experiences both in Vietnam and coping at home. I'm glad he's found support to help understand and heal from damage that will always linger. While he acknowledges that PTSD can emerge from other trauma as well, he writes about it based on his experiences.
The writing is immediate and compelling, drawing you into memories and flashbacks alike. It delves slightly into psychology, but primarily is about the author's experiences. An example that's less likely to be a trigger than other passages:
"There are Vietnam veterans who had different experiences and would, therefore, give a different account of what they saw and felt, but the trauma that causes their PTSD is their own and is deep within. You may ask why are some affected by PTSD, and not others. Why doesn’t everyone have PTSD? Some may say that it is because those inflicted had a more caring heart or maybe they were mentally weaker. I do not know the answer, but I surmise that it has nothing to do with either of those opinions. Rather I believe it is simply that we are all individuals. Just as we all have different fingerprints, eye retina, and DNA, we are all susceptible to effects of traumatic events that occur in our lives."
For decades we've sent "our boys" to war, broken them in boot camp, shipped them overseas, and expected everything to be normal when they returned. That's a ridiculous expectation, reinforced by the macho beliefs that real men don't regret what they've done or have second thoughts.
Rubbish. Total rubbish.
Vietnam vets had a different war experience than previous generations, both overseas and returning home. Their trauma and difficulties became almost a stereotype, when they should have been respected and supported. As a relative of Vietnam and Vietnam-era vets, knowing what they brought home with them: thank you for your service. Welcome home. I hope you can find your peace.
This book opens up to share the author's experiences both in Vietnam and coping at home. I'm glad he's found support to help understand and heal from damage that will always linger. While he acknowledges that PTSD can emerge from other trauma as well, he writes about it based on his experiences.
The writing is immediate and compelling, drawing you into memories and flashbacks alike. It delves slightly into psychology, but primarily is about the author's experiences. An example that's less likely to be a trigger than other passages:
"There are Vietnam veterans who had different experiences and would, therefore, give a different account of what they saw and felt, but the trauma that causes their PTSD is their own and is deep within. You may ask why are some affected by PTSD, and not others. Why doesn’t everyone have PTSD? Some may say that it is because those inflicted had a more caring heart or maybe they were mentally weaker. I do not know the answer, but I surmise that it has nothing to do with either of those opinions. Rather I believe it is simply that we are all individuals. Just as we all have different fingerprints, eye retina, and DNA, we are all susceptible to effects of traumatic events that occur in our lives."
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review