Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Whether in civilian life or in the military, these traumas are real. However these are not what sell papers or what people want to talk about on radio or television shows. Our society should be ashamed. We are now showing support for our troops in so many ways. Many of us have been glued to the TV watching them fighting, seeing the dead and wounded. We see the heroes come home. But what will be their fate when the get home. Will they be heroes or will they be tossed aside like the Vietnam veterans. Will they receive the care they need from a VA system that cannot handle the current workload? Will they be buried in a bureaucracy and give up hope? Regardless of your feelings about the war and the president, these young people our serving their country and are offering the ultimate sacrifice. Dont we have a responsibility to support them after the war is over?

A Walk in Hell
New Memoir Depicts Horrors of Vietnam-Induced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Ankeny, IA (PRWEB) September 16, 2003---- The country is in a war in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are sending our young people off to war. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WAR IS OVER? This new book explores the horrors of war that have never been forgotten. As we have new veterans who will see and do things they could not imagine, educating the public on the effects of trauma on these young soldiers and ensuring that these young people are helped immediately so they can live normal lives is paramount.

Very recently I was told by a newspaper reporter that he was not sure the paper or the public was interested in a book about another damn sick Vietnam veteran." Let me say without any doubt, you can replace Vietnam with WWII, Korea, Somalia, Gulf War, Afghanistan and now Iraq.
Vietnam is a war long forgotten by most of the population. But it is a war that thousands of veterans still fight every day, as they battle the psychological torment associated with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A Walk in Hell, a new book by Gregory A. Helle, is the journal of a man who suffered multiple traumas in Vietnam and the journey though his mind as he struggled with his recovery and now tries to live a normal life.

A Walk in Hell is Mr. Helles sometimes dark story of his experiences in Vietnam as an 18 year-old soldier in the Army, and then his battle with PTSD, which did not fully surface until thirty years later. While there are many books about heroes of the Vietnam War, A Walk in Hell is one of very few that describes the long term affects of the psychological trauma inflicted by war. This book shows the effects of PTSD caused not only by combat, but also from a sexual assault Mr. Helle suffered at the hands of a fellow soldier. Through its poetic passages, Mr. Helle brings out the mental and emotional costs of war, dealing with a problem that can be diminished by drugs and therapy, but never cured. He continues to pay a very high price for serving his country.

While the physical effects of war can be seen on those who were suffered injuries, the psychological wounds that lie beneath the surface are not always visible. Like Mr. Helle, thousands are afflicted with PTSD, most recently those affected by the events of September 11. These people try to live as normally as possible, but the horror is never far away. With the war in Afghanistan and the likely war in Iraq, it is important for the public to know the price that is being paid by our veterans and the lives that are irreversibly altered by war. The cost of freedom is very high, and many veterans continue to pay that price throughout their lives.

With brief simplicity and powerful impact, April 18, 2003
Reviewer: Midwest Book Review from Oregon, WI USA

A Walk in Hell is a must read: its very good and even more disturbing. Reviewer: Donna E. Bedrick

This gives those not affected by PTSD an
understanding of PTSD and how it devastates a life. Reviewer: Barbara Buhrer

I became overwhelmed by his writings Reviewer: Roger J. Girard M.ED, CTS, CAP

For the psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker and clergy, this is a must reading. For the student of these professions, this should be required in the curriculum.
Reviewer: Jan Dale, Ph.D.

Full text of reviews can be read at http://www.awalkinhell.com/reviews.htm
My readers have given me many comments about the book and the web site. Please review these at http://www.awalkinhell.com/prof%20reviews.htm. There are also press clippings and other information on the web site.
About the Author
A lifelong Iowa resident, Gregory A. Helle now lives in Ankeny, Iowa. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Alice for 32 years, and has two grown children, a daughter who is a police officer and a son in law school. Mr. Helle works as the hospital administrator of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Iowa State University. Although not a grunt," Mr. Helle served in Vietnam and saw and did things that have altered his life. In 2000, Mr. Helle spent three months at the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Menlo Park, California. Since then, he has been hospitalized five times in local hospitals and in 2001 spent another three and one-half months in a Florida VA hospital. Though his life is better now, the war does not leave him. The pain of what he has done and what was done to him will never leave. Although there are more good days now, the war is never far beneath the surface. His nights are filled with nightmares of the war. He often has flashbacks of the war and panic attacks during the day. Depression always a problem, he just hopes for peace.
Please read my open letter at: http://www.awalkinhell.com/Open_Letter.htm
A Walk in Hell
By Gregory A. Helle
Publication Date: November 7, 2002
Trade Paperback; $22.99; 364 pages; 1-4010-7518-5
Cloth Hardback; $32.99; 364 pages; 1-4010-7519-3
Lower prices from author at www.awalkinhell.com

The author is available for interviews or to provide additional information by calling (515) 965-7822 or contacting him at gregsbook@mchsi.com. The author is also available to talk with groups about the effects of war trauma, the high cost of freedom. Excerpts from the book can be read at http://www.awalkinhell.com/forward.htm.
A Walk in Hell can be purchased directly from the author and have the book inscribed and signed by the author through the web page http://www.awalkinhell.com. The author offers immediate shipping and a 15% discount off retail prices.
It can also be purchased through the Xlibris Web site at: http://www1.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=15195 or by calling 1-888-795-4274. The publisher offers a 15% discount off retail. The book is also available for sale through the major online booksellers - www.amazon.com , www.BN.com and www.borders.com.
About Xlibris
Xlibris is a publishing services company based in Philadelphia and a strategic partner of Random House Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Random House, Inc. Xlibris books can be purchased in any major bookstore, or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders or Xlibris. For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.xlibris.com.
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