Overview
Tears of a Warrior by Janet J. Seahorn, PH.D and E. Anthony Seahorn, MBA
is an incredibly well-written and illustrated book for soldiers who suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and their families written by a husband-wife team who know the struggles with PTSD first-hand. And then, it takes life a step further – Tears of a Warrior is also a handbook full of well-researched worksheets and strategies for both the warrior and the spouse to help understand and manage combat-related PTSD.

Praise
Tears of a Warrior was sent to me with high recommendations from a veteran I have come to admire and respect – Mike MacDonald. Not only did he send me the book, but he also got me in touch with the authors, who have a fantastic website (see below). I have been studying PTSD for two years, but this book taught me things I had not heard before. I like non-fiction books that walk me through information rather than just plop facts and figures in my lap: this book lead me through a slow and gentle path and gave me tools to go even further. It is emotionally easy to read. I took weeks to absorb the information presented, but not because I had to stop and assimilate the emotional imagery; I quickly and easily found the flow of the manuscript every time I picked up where I had left off.

Janet Seahorn has a Ph.D in Human Development and Organizational Systems and teaches neuroscience and literacy for Regis College at Denver and Colorado State University. Anthony Seahorn is an Army Vet who served in Viet Nam with the Dauntless Black Lions of the 1st Infantry Division. The authors combine real-life experiences (pre-, during, and post-combat) with clinical definitions and illustrations and then weave these together with examples of how symptoms and characteristics might manifest themselves in the life of the warrior as well as the spouse. Then the authors provide behavioral strategies and introspective worksheets to use with the spouse to help rebuild the individuals and the relationships.

Concerns
I don’t have any concerns about this book.

Conclusion
So often, I hear He’s not the same man he was before he went to war. This book says, Yes, you’re right. This is why he changed and this is how you can help him make accommodations and adjustments in light of those changes.

Tears of a Warrior is available for sale on the website. I also highly recommend signing up for their informative weekly blog. You could spend hours reading through their website and still have more to read and learn. If you decide to purchase a copy, why not purchase several and donate them to a local VA, American Legion, or VFW? Don’t forget the JROTC at your local high school. The authors offer a special discount on their website if five (5) or more books are purchased. If you could get this book into the hands of a young soldier before he or she gets into battle, I believe it could – if not prevent – help prepare a warrior for the changes that will take place because of combat.

When I do book reviews, I always try to mark one particular passage that spoke to me – to use as the blurb under the title of the article. There were so many passages that it took me days to narrow it down; I finally choose two. However, if you can only read four pages of this book, read pages 166 through 170. Even if you’ve never heard of PTSD, read those pages; they are wonderful.