Book: Close to Home

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 “Close to Home: A Soldier’s Guide to Returning from War is a beautifully written, courageous and inspiring guide to surviving the difficult and often agonizing return home from war. One of the most important books to be published since 9/11. It is a life-saver, compassionate, well-researched and timely. It should be required reading for every American.”
–Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran, author of Born on the Fourth of July

“I have read your book and I am blown away! You have really caught the voice and experience of veterans and expressed it in a wonderfully accessible way…You have a real gem here – something that can be of great help in healing all survivors of war…and those who want to help them.”
-Kate Dahlstedt, M.A., L.M.H.C., psychotherapist and co-director of Soldier’s Heart, an organization dedicated to the healing and recovery of veterans of war

“This is an important book because it confronts an issue which thousands of soldiers face—how to return to “normal” life after war… and adjust to families who often have become more independent and assertive in their absence. For those who fought, coming home means leaving behind probably the most important and intense experience of a lifetime, and often finding no one who really understands, and many people who don’t really care. Britta Reque-Dragicevic’s well-written book offers thoughtful suggestions to returning soldiers on how to find new meaning in life and to rebuild relationships; and to their friends and loved ones on how to deal with the men and women returning from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
-Edith M. Lederer, co-author of War Torn: Stories of War from the Women Reporters who Covered Vietnam

“Britta’s book is a very strong and courageous effort to deal with a subject that’s almost impossible for anyone to grasp if they haven’t had war experience in some form, which even then eludes us. It contains a great many thoughtful ideas, including some not generally addressed, about the difficulty of coming to grips with war’s after-effects on the individual and on relationships.”                                                                                                                                                                         -Richard Pyle, former Associated Press Saigon bureau chief

“Close to Home is a ‘How-to-Guide’ that brings together the experience of “being there” and survival. War has no favorites; we are all affected whether it is the soldier, family or friend. By sharing her experiences, Britta has continued to fuel my belief that ‘together we can make a difference.”
-CPT Patricia Curry, U.S. Army, Iraq veteran

“You are obviously a special individual who “gets it.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                 -SGT Mike Pectol, Vietnam veteran and PTSD survivor

About Close to Home:

In Close to Home, you’ll find your own voice echoed and get a deeper understanding of what life after war is like and what you can do to begin the healing process. Families and healthcare workers will gain a deeper look into the post-war experience and helpful insight into how to cope and help. Each chapter ends with a special section called “Voices”–personal stories by veterans. The book is also meant to be used as an interactive journal with blank “What’s Running Through My Mind Now” sections between chapters to record thoughts or make notes.

Chapters include:

• Expectations
  What war survivors and their loved ones expect after war vs. the way it really is
• Talking About War
  Addressing the reality, sharing the emotional/spiritual load, getting graphic, being known
• Where the Soul Goes
  Understanding “soul”, realizing the loss of identity, moral dilemma, how souls may leave, souls of the dead as reality, making peace with the dead
• Sacred Space
  Creating healing space for ourselves, within our communities, within faith, room to be, to ask questions, to grow, what families and communities can do
• Loss
  Recognizing the various forms of loss, from faith to sex, in survivors and loved ones, grieving the dead, grieving yourself
• PTSD
  Going beyond the label, holistic needs, military sexual trauma
• The Questions
  Going deeper into the questions: religion, good, evil, meaning, safety, purpose of war, role in war, priorities, intentions, responsibility, finding ground
• Religion
  More in depth look at religious perplexities, nature of humanity, God is love?, mercy & forgiveness, religion as politics
• Depression & Suicide
  What it means, the choice, understanding its impact
• Physical Wounds
  Finding a new identity; what you still have to give
• Control
  Perceptions, recognizing what we can and can’t control, making choices, letting go, making life-affirming decisions
• The Enemy is Human
  Seeing the enemy as human, visitations from enemy souls, looking at the enemy and yourself with compassion, mourning
• Acceptance
  Learning to embrace who we are now during the process; accepting our changed selves, accepting our changed loved ones, when the relationship doesn’t survive, accepting the future
• Honor
  Recognizing our place in the Universe, honoring ourselves, honoring the warrior within
• Beauty from Ashes
  Moving forward, new beginnings, holding on, and your hope for wholeness