Come Up Voice

Book excerpt: Come up Voice is a story about a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War who after fifty years is still struggling with PTSD. It describes in vivid detail his journey from “new guy” innocence to a battle tested and hardened veteran. But his journey doesn’t end there. He has always been afraid to tell this story, fearing the inability to separate his nightmares from reality. His biggest fear however was what others would think and the possibility that his family would view him as psychologically impaired. But after years of encouragement from his counselors, he decided to write it all down. Wanting so desperately to finally heal and not wake each morning weary over distinguishing between nightmares and reality. This book is an attempt to reveal what PTSD looks like. It discloses how the gruesomeness of war and fifty years of nightmares can affect a person for a lifetime.