Continuing Actions

Book excerpt: We've paid our dues in service to our country-and earned scars we bear with pride. But something is missing from our understanding of these marks. Our scars, both visible and invisible, are not just reminders of the incredible highs and lows of our past. They are much more than that.They are the gateway to our future. Memories of combat do not have to be curses. To those brave enough to face them, they offer the means to move forward in life, not burdened by past experiences but transformed by wisdom paid for in blood, sweat, and tears. These opportunities pose serious challenges rarely mentioned in our training-a knowledge gap that leaves us exposed to needless and predictable injuries. Closing this gap requires us to take action, individual action. We've not been trained for the phase of the Warrior's Journey that continues beyond the battlefield. This book is a reconnaissance into the dangers, and opportunities, of this final stage.The challenges of coming home are real. These Continuing Actions can help you overcome them and finally, fully, return home.Continuing Actions: A Warrior's Guide to Coming Home is Dan Sheehan's second book. His first book, After Action: The True Story of a Cobra Pilot's Journey, won multiple awards and continues to help many to understand the human costs of going to war.Drawing on his own experiences and the works of mental health professionals, scholars, and other veterans, Dan shows how warriors have always had to face challenges when coming home after combat. Far from aberrations that effect only the weak, these challenges are integral to any warrior's journey. Unfortunately, modern warriors have not been trained to deal this them--or even told that they exist. With a Foreword by Dr. Jonathan Shay, an esteemed leader in PTSD research and treatment and bestselling author, Continuing Actions exposes this gap in preparation and provides pragmatic solutions for how each individual veteran and active duty service member can overcome it themselves.