The Book of Eric

Book excerpt: Eric Arauz suddenly died at the age of 47 in March of 2018. His friends, family, and community were devastated. In order to deal with his own grief, Frank Greenagel wrote about Eric every day for 30 days and shared his stories and photographs. Others followed. This book celebrates the life of an extraordinary man and also provides a model on grieving. Those that knew Eric or devoured his book will be pleased to read new stories about him. Those that never met the man nor read his book will be astounded by his service to others and moved by the grief of those that survive him. Eric Arauz is the award winning author of "An American's Resurrection," which was published in 2012. It is the story of Mr. Arauz's descent into the personal hell of a locked down VA ward. Mr. Arauz was a disabled Gulf War I veteran who was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. He also had a problem with alcohol and drugs. He got sober in 1996 and earned two degrees at Rutgers. In 2006, he became a mental health advocate. By the time his book was published he was a faculty member at the Rutgers Medical School and a national trainer with an expertise in mental health disorders, trauma and suicide. All profits from this book will be donated to a scholarship fund at Rutgers University for veterans that are in recovery from a substance misuse disorder.