Line in the Sand

by Dean Yates

Dean Yates was the ideal warzone correspondent: courageous, compassionate, dedicated. After years of facing the worst, though, including the Bali bombings and the Boxing Day tsunami, one final incident undid him. In July 2007, two of his staff members were brutally gunned down by an American helicopter in Iraq.

What followed was an unravelling of everything Dean thought he knew of himself. His PTSD was compounded by his moral wound - the devastation of what he thought he knew of the world and his own character and beliefs. After years of treatment, including several stints inside a psychiatric facility, Dean has reshaped his view of the true meaning of life. Here, in all its guts and glory, is that journey to a better way of being. Dean has been to the blackest heart of humanity and come out with strength and hope.

Line in the Sand is a memoir that is going to resonate for generations to come. It tackles the most important topic of our age in an unforgettable way.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

352 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2024

About the author

Line in the Sand is a raw, gritty account of my seven-year odyssey to find the best ways to treat my PTSD and moral injury and reconnect with my family. I take you inside the Ward 17 psych unit in Melbourne, where I spent 77 days and nights over a two-year period with scores of veterans and first responders. I show how moral injury fits into the broader narrative of PTSD.

What worked for me was approaching my trauma with curiosity. Total honesty with my partner Mary. Never giving up. Understanding the nature of my identity wound, my anger, and seeking meaning from life. I show how employers are brutalising and abandoning a cohort of workers — veterans, first responders and journalists. But while I focus on those occupations, my book contains messages for anyone living with trauma and mental illness and their loved ones.

I believe my story is a powerful testament to having a strong support network. It might be tough to read. It’s also uplifting. I hope it will inspire and bring about change.

I led Reuters teams that covered the 2002 Bali bombings and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia’s Aceh province. I was deputy bureau chief for Israel and Palestine in 2006, during the Lebanon War. I was Reuters bureau chief in Iraq, responsible for 100 people, from 2007-2008. It was during this time that a U.S. Apache gunship killed two Reuters journalists in Baghdad on July 12, 2007. Julian Assange published footage of that attack in 2010, shocking millions.

Reviews

[Hugh Riminton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Untold numbers of people have been exposed to trauma in their lives, either directly or through loved ones. Some have written books. None that I have read have been more raw and true to the experience than this one by Dean Yates.
Dean was the Baghdad bureau chief for Reuters for 700 days during the American-led occupation. It was a job he had earned through sterling work in other conflict and disaster zones. But it was to break him.
This book charts his hard journey back, with the support of his almost-as-traumatised wife and family. As a seasoned journalist, Yates is unstinting in his search for knowledge, seeking answers to what has happened to him, how it fits with the developing theories of PTSD and "moral injury", and the processes most likely to help him heal.
It is, in the end, a triumphant book even if the answers are not always easy. I read it with the racing sensation of recognition and gratitude for the work he has done. Vital for people who've been there; even more so for those who love them.

[Chris Wigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very personal and well researched account of the impact of cumulative trauma and moral injury, and how a commitment to family, learning and openness can promote true growth.

[Toni Umar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Line in the Sand by Dean Yates
I read this book over a couple of days back in August, it was really good and has stayed with me, with certain parts of it often popping up in my memories. The author Dean is so honest in how he shares what he has experienced and his reactions to those experiences. The reader is privileged to hear of his private life and his work stories, with the interaction of both, crucial to how Deans diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder pans out. As an experienced journalist covering numerous war zones, Dean was well liked and known for his compassion and strong leadership skills. Finally a terrible event tipped everything over, and Dean became disappointed and angry with himself and those closest to him.
I learnt about the term Moral Injury from reading this incredible book. Explained on page 216 and 217, it is likely to occur if there is no organisational support when an employee experiences consistent high stress and traumatic exposure. For the individual who is experiencing this, it is like a betrayal that feels as real and visceral as a physical threat does. These words have been life changing for me in dealing with my own form of work related PTSD. The whole book is full of moments such as that and I found myself constantly relating to family and friends who would benefit from reading Deans words. A strong five stars for me 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠
Thanks to the Global Girls Online Book Club, where Dean was author for the day, being able to interact with Dean felt like meeting him. Then I was lucky enough to win an autographed copy of the book too! Thanks Dean.

[Jim KABLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crossing the Line

Too much to say - and anything I could say has already been said far better by greats such as Chris Hedges and Paul Daley. Dean Yates’ story of coming to grips with PTSD and Moral Injury out the loss of two of his staff when he was the Reuters Bureau Chief in Baghdad is as moving for his honesty and for the support of his wife and children and key friends as for the astounding betrayal by US military and Presidents and insurance firms and - in the Australian elements of the story - of an Australian PM and the Department of Veteran Affairs - all the more beggaring of belief when it is known that his two staff murdered in Baghdad in 2007 by a callous US Apache gunship crew - the footage of which was passed by Chelsea Manning to WikiLeaks released by Julian Assange in 2010 “Collateral Damage” earning Julian the everlasting hatred and persecution of the US with complicity of the UK and Sweden and Ecuador - though worst of all by a US-cowed Australia - both sides if the political fence. This is a classic piece of writing. How proud I am to know that Dean Yates is an Australian - and that he has memorialised his staff so cruelly murdered by the U.S.

[Phil Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rollercoaster ride to mental health hell & back, by a foreign correspondent.

In this epic story we are taken to the darkest periods of recent history & the affect it has on those who report it to the world. Dean tells all in his battle to survive through intense anguish, personal trauma, PTSD & more. I found this book completely absorbing & a riveting read. I stayed up all night, one night reading it & therefore can highly recommend this book to everyone.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping, well written, totally raw, no holds bard account of Dean's journey through PTSD, his career at Reuters as a journalist in war zones to the support of his long suffering family and dealing with his trauma in ward 17.
This is an awakening for everyone in the mental health profession and those who suffer with mental health. Dean lays his journey bare, bringing you to tears, disbelief and finally understanding.

[Sel Rou · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant breakdown of trauma & the raw & difficult road to recovery.
Trauma affects many worldwide & there's not enough support, guidance or understanding of various ways we suffer from PTSD - whether in childhood, an incident or at work.
Thank you Dean for your brave story that helps one realise - wow OK - I'm NOT crazy... It's why my mind and body react like they do.

[Jacob B · Rating 1 out of 5]

This failed to be the life changing book it promised to be. No line in the sand was drawn. Instead I worked my way through what felt like 300 pages of trying to bring down his employer Reuters, mixed in with a literature review.
Would've loved to have read a few chapters from Mary's perspective.

[Maz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yates's descriptions of what it feels like to live with PTSD are the closest way I've seen of explaining how it is to live with PTSD. Other than that he's way too up on the military and the cops

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Line in the Sand offers an honest look at the emotional strain of conflict reporting, but its framing of moral injury feels misplaced. Most of what Yates describes reads as cumulative trauma, guilt, and shame—not the kind of value-based ethical conflict the term typically implies.

The memoir is also filled with familiar ideological shibboleths—euphemistic relational terms, preferred-identity language, and therapeutic phrasing—that signal a particular worldview (initially subtle but fully visible by the end). This mirrors a larger pattern throughout the book: moments that call for personal accountability are consistently reframed as the result of external forces or psychological injury.

As a portrait of emotional collapse, the book has value. As an exploration of moral injury, it overextends the concept and avoids the harder questions. Ultimately, the memoir is primarily about personal choices he has not owned, and only secondarily about trauma that overwhelmed him. He has clearly suffered, but trauma is used more to explain his behavior than to confront it.

After finishing the book, I still don’t know what his “Line in the Sand” was. The memoir contains no identifiable moral dilemma or boundary—no moment where he says, “This is wrong; I cannot cross this.”

The memoir often feels like reading the early stages of addiction recovery—honest about his own suffering, but not yet honest about responsibility.

[Hugh Riminton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Untold numbers of people have been exposed to trauma in their lives, either directly or through loved ones. Some have written books. None that I have read have been more raw and true to the experience than this one by Dean Yates.
Dean was the Baghdad bureau chief for Reuters for 700 days during the American-led occupation. It was a job he had earned through sterling work in other conflict and disaster zones. But it was to break him.
This book charts his hard journey back, with the support of his almost-as-traumatised wife and family. As a seasoned journalist, Yates is unstinting in his search for knowledge, seeking answers to what has happened to him, how it fits with the developing theories of PTSD and "moral injury", and the processes most likely to help him heal.
It is, in the end, a triumphant book even if the answers are not always easy. I read it with the racing sensation of recognition and gratitude for the work he has done. Vital for people who've been there; even more so for those who love them.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most honest and captivating account of what it's like to have PTSD that I've read to date. Not only does he address his personal battles with PTSD and how it impacted his family and his livelihood, his journalistic style and grace made for an excellent and informative read. He shares his experience along with his pain and guilt. And, he provides revelatory information for anyone would like to see light shed on things that occur behind the scenes, like the moral injuries inflicted when feeling betrayed and ignored due to workplace policies that hurt more than they help. He is a wise advocate for the less fortunate, including first responders, struggling to get the help they need while battling a debilitating illness. Highly recommended.

Yates well written page turning memoir was instrumental in educating readers without being preachy or self indulgent in his tone. I felt like I knew him by the time I finished the book.

[Girish Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-told tales of adventure, tragedy, excitement, or loss may be necessary for a strong memoir—and Dean has many lifetimes’ worth of those in this book—but they’re not quite sufficient. What really makes a memoir is the author’s ability to deal honestly with their emotions, to form them, grapple with them, and allow them to mature. “Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry,” wrote WB Yeats. And it is Dean’s years-long quarrels with himself, and his ability to face them head on with astounding honesty—which at times is uncomfortable for even the reader, let alone for Dean—that makes this memoir so breathtaking. It transcends journalism and war, and goes deep into how as human beings we react to the world around us. An essential read for anyone who wants to better empathize with themselves and others.

[Lauren Guinane · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are no words to fully describe and praise this book enough - you MUST read it for yourself! It is moving, so informative, raw, completely honest, and so incredibly beneficial to anyone who has endured trauma in any form. It has inspired me to write my own story down! Who knows if I'll ever do anything with it, other than share it with those close to me, but just the act of expelling it into written form, is the most therapeutic thing I have done in my journey to date. Thank you, Dean.

[cordelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book detailing trauma and its lasting impact on an individual, told through Yates experience as a Reuters war journo

Many people know the Collateral Murder video, thanks to Assange and Manning, and we've seen the consequences on a macro scale, but this book really goes into detail on impacts of the incident on a personal level, which i hadnt known beforehand

Very interesting learning about moral injury and PTSD and the importance of mental health support in the workspace

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give this one 56 stars
Trauma
CPTSD
International Headlines
Journalism
Moral Injury -a new phrase to me but I know exactly what is meant while reading the book.

My CPTSD is not from war or being a first responder. I felt identification with this man who had a peaceful childhood or at least reasonably peaceful.

I will be following Dean Yates and recommending this book to a LOT of people.

[Kym Hamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly courageous story...honest, heart breaking and inspiring in equal measures. I was completely captivated and couldn't put it down. We have so much to learn about the condition of humanity...5 huge stars.

[A.J. McMahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book was really good. It devasting to hear what kind of things the journalist who wrote the story went through. It is amazing that this is what some people's jobs are.

I'm also impressed by how he came out the other side and wrote a book about it too.

[Maddison Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A raw, honest, and insightful account of PTSD. An important read for the general public to understand PTSD and its impacts on lesser known career paths associated with the condition. And an important read for those with experiences of PTSD, this book makes you feel seen.

[russell walldock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational

I thoroughly enjoyed the honesty of the author. Being an ex first responder I could empathise with his awful journey and take tips on how to recover as well.
Thanks for taking the effort to create this body of work Dean. All the best for your future adventures.

[Ann Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening memoir about one man’s life with PTSD.

[Andrew Marks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great listen, authentically presented providing great insight into PTSD and moral injury which is experienced not only by Veterans and First Responders but also Journalists reporting on the maladies of life.

A deeper insight into humanity.

Beautifully narrated by Dean.

[Andrew Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful, intense. This book is about a man's journey with PTSD. It's hard to put down and, at times, emotional. It's also about the relationship between an employee and their employer. I am glad that I read this book. It is well worth your time