PTSD and the story behind my novella

I saw some combat during the Vietnam War. Saw some.

"Saw" is the key word. There is a big difference between witnessing combat up close and actually taking part in it.

I saw some death. I saw some destruction. And I saw several scary situations while I was in the middle of events that could have gotten me killed.

Yet, my tour of duty in the Vietnam conflict was a calm Sunday family picnic compared with what our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have been experiencing and are still experiencing.

I came home from the Vietnam War with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It affected me strongly for many years afterward. It still affects me sometimes today. And mine was just a mild case.

With the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq still dragging on and on, we now have thousands upon thousands of veterans - men and women -- who are experiencing, or who soon will experience, PTSD and the various, unnerving ways it can affect individuals, families, co-workers and others.

There are no easy solutions or quick "cures" for PTSD. Most of those who have it now likely will need assistance of some kind, possibly for years to come. You don't just take a pill and return to "normalcy" after you've been to war.

One way I have dealt with PTSD is by writing: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenplays, articles, reviews, blog posts.

I recently wrote a book that, at one level, has been another way for me to confront and deal with the PTSD ghosts still floating around inside my head. It is fiction, but many parts of it are drawn from real events in my life during and after my time in the Vietnam conflict.

The book, a novella titled Jump, recently has been featured in "The Spark," the Harvard University Extension School's blog. Here is the link: http://harvardextension.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/si-dunn-story/

The posting explains some of the background behind the book's creation.

-- Si Dunn

#