I've been writing since I was little. Whether it was my diary, once every 2 or 3 months for a couple years, poems, or the beginning of about one million and two stories. It used to be my go-to whenever I was upset or stressed.
Somewhere along the way, I let my stresses overtake me, and I didn't write for a long time. Life got in the way, and there were times I couldn't see my way out of a paper sack. After a car accident, I was diagnosed as borderline depressed. Later, I was told I had anxiety, and then, during a particularly rough part of my life came the panic attacks.
What I am trying to say, is that what is called "mental illness," (I hate that term) isn't a weakness, it isn't bad, it just means you've been too strong for too long with not enough support. Period.
My first husband was in the Air Force and was deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a Civil Engineer. Even though he was nowhere near the front line, there was still some amount of risk. His squadron was housed in a tent city right off the runway at Diyarbakir and Incirlik. I feared what would happen if the runways were ever bombed. Every spouse's nightmare is opening the door to the base chaplain. So, to some extent, I understand what military personnel and their families go through. We were lucky and he was not injured. But I came to hold great respect for both military personnel and their families. It is a hard, stressful life, and sometimes the only consolation is that you are doing the right thing. That there is a greater purpose.
When military personnel is sent home, whether it's the end of their commitment, or because they have been medically discharged, they have a hard adjustment to civilian life. And our country utterly fails them. They deserve the best of care, free housing for life, no taxes for life, no stress, so they can concentrate on their recovery and remaining healthy. That's what we should be giving them for signing their names on the line.
I've seen too many heartbreaking stories of veterans being forgotten, homeless, alone. I decided if I could do nothing more than make 1 or 2 people aware of their plight, then maybe I can make a tiny difference in a veteran's life.
So, that's why my book is about a wounded veteran.
I am currently working on book number 2, which will take place in the gap year from book number 1. The 2 main characters, are people you already know from book 1, and hopefully, love enough to want to read. It's a slow start because the book isn't speaking to me yet, but it will. So hold tight, I'm hoping to have this book done and published by sometime this summer.