Brain Pain: Our Invisible Wounds - Fighting Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress

by Anthony E. Jones

Sacrifice is a word which can often be lightly used and quite often in the wrong context. The sacrifices some people think they make can pale into comparison with deeper and more meaningful ones, forged under circumstances, which would be beyond many.

For Major Anthony ‘T-Dawg’ Jones, his own personal sacrifice meant life-defining and career changing moments, when he was almost killed in action during a tour of duty in Iraq. His father and him both survived multiple combat explosions. His in Iraq, his fathers in Vietnam. He calls his nemesis, Chaos. His father calls himself Defective.

And in his book, Brain Pain, he reveals what it took to live through those moments and somehow rebuild his life into something meaningful. Fighting against depression and hopelessness, dark places, suicidal thoughts, addiction and excruciating pain, he learned to face a new foe, drawn up on a front line with different rules.

Brain Pain is a raw and honest account of what it means to serve in the military and make a sacrifice, which demands a lifelong price. It is a book which is a ‘must read’ for anyone who wants to know what service and sacrifice really are, and is a striking picture of what life with a traumatic brain injury (Brain Pain) is like. For while the physical scars may heal in time and leave no lasting effects, the mental scars are ever present and lie much deeper.

250 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2016

About the author

Anthony Jones is a businessman, author and retired Major of the United States Air Force. His vast experience in military training and dedication to duty has seen him travel to every continent on the planet and serve in numerous combat operations, where he was twice wounded and received two Purple Hearts. Anthony is single and now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he runs his own company – Core Group Security Consultants, Bodyguard and Investigations Company.

He is a great believer that people should ‘do the work! Walk your walk’ and taking responsibility for your own life is something we should all aspire to. The problems he faced, and face many others, was partly behind the thinking which led him to write his first book, Brain Pain.

This was born from a desire to help people to overcome their own difficulties, many of them ex-servicemen, using the personal traumas he has faced as an example of how one can overcome a particular set of circumstances. It is now available to buy.
When he has some down time Anthony likes to relax by playing the guitar. He also loves horses and the great outdoors (something which he has always enjoyed), and he can often be found camping, snowboarding or mountain biking in the countryside.

His wish to help others is his driving force and Anthony volunteers at several local middle schools, as a teacher’s assistant, using his military background and experiences as an inspiration to the next generation of Americans. He hopes to continue all the good work he has been doing by helping as many sufferers of TBI and PTS as he possibly can.

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes right to your heart. Most people know a story like this from someone they know. Agonizing. I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderfully written memoir of a father and son who both, unfortunately, share the trauma of Brain Injury and PTSD as a result of their respective service in Vietnam or Iran/Iraq. I wish there was not a need for stories such as this to be told but the sad fact is that the US has a problem in providing the much needed post war care to the soldiers who return from war with " invisible illnesses" that effect their brains rather then easily seen injuries like amputations. The physical ones can be dealt with easily by our medical professionals but as a general statement, we as a nation have failed our military personnel by not being prepared to provide much needed post war care for the abundance of soldiers returning with Traumatic Brain Injuries and/or PTSD. I could go on endlessly with my diatribe on how we failed them but the best words won't come from me.

I highly recommend the reading of Brain Pain as it is written directly by a survivor of TBI and PTSD, along with his explanation in the beginning explaining why there might be some items repeated throughout the book. I loved that he was so open and willing to share such personal and intense emotions that he watched his father endure upon his return from Vietnam and then his own feelings of inadequacy and fear upon returning home with TBI and PTSD. He opens up on a topic that has been considered to be taboo for far too long. He writes as if you are sitting in the room next to him and listening to him tell you his life story. This brings his story to life in a manner that just doesn't come across in many other stories as written more reserved or clinical. I felt myself going through the emotions alongside of him...being happy when he was, sad when he was, hurt, angry, scared, etc. He helped open my eyes to many aspects of these illnesses that I knew but only from a far away clinical position but after reading this I have a whole new perspective on the issues they are dealing with. There is no reason that any of our military should have to "fight for help" after injuring themselves fighting on our behalf. Dealing with brain injuries is hard enough without having to focus on fighting for benefits that should be automatic.

In my opinion this book should be read by every politician before they can vote to send another of our valiant men or women off to war and then maybe they will put more thought into being sure we are fully prepared to help with ALL their medical and emotional issues when they return home.

Please take a few hours to read this personal and emotion filled book to learn what so many people are going through and it will open your eyes up to s many simple things we take for granted in our daily lives. TBI and PTSD are not just issues effecting our military but can effect anyone involved in traumatic event. Think how often we see car crashes but we don't see end result. All too often brain. injuries are the end result and every time we step into our cars, the potential for us to be involved in a serious car crash are there. So this is a fight that effects everyone.

[Patricia Purks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what our country's "warfighters" endure on combat and when they return home. It helped me understand the unseen battle some of our men and women have everyday. Thank you for sharing.

[Kelli Santistevan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway 2 years ago and I finally got around to reading this for Non Fiction November and I’m glad I did. I enjoyed this book and I learned a lot.