War Torn: Stories of Courage, Love, and Resilience

by Kenneth E. Miller, James Garbarino (Foreword)

With some 200 million people affected by armed conflict or genocide, refugees are appearing in record numbers. War Torn takes us beyond the headlines into the lives of civilians caught up in war's destructive power in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Guatemala, and Sri Lanka. Alongside stories that convey the destruction and heartbreak of armed conflict, Ken Miller captures the courage and resilience he calls “a remarkable kind of light,” an essential counterpoint to the grief and trauma that war creates. The stories in War Torn are powerful, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable. Drawing on his extensive research and clinical experience, Miller also offers a nuanced critique of the overly narrow focus on PTSD among survivors of armed conflict.

Genres: Nonfiction

280 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2016

About the author

Avid reader and writer (see "War Torn" on Goodreads, Amazon, and at www.kennethemiller.com). I write a blog, "The Refugee Experience" on PsychologyToday.com. Passionate musician & rock-climber, currently living in an absurdly flat country but travel as often as I can to mountains. When not writing, work as a researcher and psychologist developing and evaluating mental health programs for war-affected communities.

Reviews

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

GNAB I received a free electronic copy of this book from Netgalley, Kenneth E. Miller, and Larson Publications on August 8, 2016 in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, for sharing your work with me.

This is an eye-opening study. Psychologist Kenneth E. Miller and his wife Debbie began collecting data and teaching volunteers in refugee camps around the world back in 1991. This book begins in the Guatemalan camps during the civil war/military coupe/ethnic cleansing of that Latin American country, following Guatemalan refugees into better safety in those camps just over the border in Mexico. The Miller's compiled information to help provide better, more rounded assistance for political refugees, training volunteers and teachers to address mental health and lifestyle necessities, and tracked the problems of both adults and children trapped into this transient lifestyle where medical attention, schooling, and a sense of safety and hope are limited or completely missing.

Ken Miller continues this journey on his own, beginning in Chicago, working with Afghan refugees in order to discover how and what questions to ask refugees to determine their mental health needs and following that up with time in Syria, Bosnia, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka. And he has gifted us with his Sir Lankan film, Unholy Ground.

We US citizens have a tendency to picture these circumstances as temporary, and fairly well funded. For many children the refugee camps are all they know throughout their whole childhood. And there are refugee camps, Gaza comes to mind, where the third generation is being born into the camps, people without a country, without continuity, without hope. Kenneth Miller tells us what we don't know.
In reality, there are almost 200 million people in over 40 countries impacted by war and genocide, living day to day exiled from their homes, families, and lifestyles. Kenneth Miller brings us their stories. This is a book I will read again, and share with my children. This is a worldwide problem we all need to understand, and address.


pub date OCTOBER 7, 2016
Received kindle Aug 8, 2016
Larson Publications
Still not able to review at Amazon and B&N Sept 1

[Lata · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is an excellent, non-fiction account of the work of psychologist Kenneth E Miller in war torn countries. Ken has divided the book into the different countries he has worked in like Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Sarajevo, Iraq. The stories, or rather, the accounts, are rather sad. Instead of focusing on the situation and the sadness around, Ken has his main focus on the human spirit. How they overcome such hopelessness and still be able to remove obstacles in their day to day life. It is upto you to take it one story after another. Either be depressed by reading the stories, or to take inspiration from all the humanity in the despair. It does make you a little sad. But, it will also make you appreciate the peaceful life you lead and to never take it for granted. And also, the story needs to be told. Highly recommended.

[LAWonder10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite lengthy, yet an easy read because of the many multiple stories which can be read one at a time if you can pull yourself away long enough!
The following quote summarizes the content of this book, "In wars fought today, the most common victim isn't the soldier, but a child, a schoolteacher, a young mother, a grandparent...". Although many of the stories of his experiences are in War Torn countries, some are also of those where he served within the Country.
I really enjoyed a quote he made, saying relief is found when sharing one's "stories with others who listen without judgement, doubt or fear as we unburden , as the truth of our experiences is known and documented. In this process, it loses its destructive power." I believe this to be very true. To often individuals do not simply listen to others without, judgement, lecture or ridicule.
Another section I felt in need of reference was when he talked of how, even professionals, take for granted and are unaware of the traumatic effects on others who work with those who have experienced extreme trauma, such as translators. Often the indirect impact on them is devastating as they do their job.
This part War Story, part memoir, covers victims from rape, abuse, to those who have witnessed genocide and torture. These are experiences he has had in foreign countries and within his own country. It tells of great love, resilience, courage, faith and endurance of many. Some situations are devastating and heart-wrenching and others are very inspiring and hopeful.
Unlike other non-fiction which can sometimes become monotonous, this account holds the readers interest and wanting to read more.
I offer a Five Stars rating.
^This book was sent as a gift and in no way does it affect my honest review.

[Kent De groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading War Torn opened a door onto the deep, nuanced human and emotional side of the global refugee crisis. Something I could never have gotten with the sound-byte nature of today's media.

I have very little experience with refugees, or the people that work with them. I grew up partially in Thailand in the 80’s and remember my mom going to the refugee camps on the northern border. She painted a grim and frightening picture, but I was 10 and don’t have strong memories or emotions of it. War Torn changed all that.

I was taken from Guatemala in the 90’s, a time I lived through far away in my comfortable life in the West, to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq. The experience of reading War Torn was anything but comfortable. I was alive when all this happened. I felt embarrassed at how little I knew and how little I felt. Ken takes us into the lives of the people he helped in each of these places. Shares stories of such heart-rending grief and loss that in the moment of reading the words, I couldn’t imagine how these people could continue or even want to survive. Ken shares these stories too; how these people, in the face of such tragedy, are able to create lives of joy and fulfillment again.

For me, reading War Torn was an emotional roller-coaster. One story of an Afgan from Kabul imprinted itself on me. He lost his entire family when the truck he was escaping with them in rolled off a cliff and killed them all. Through Ken’s writing I could see him standing on that cliff looking down at the crushed burning truck so far below. I could also see and feel him years later, working with Ken and his team in Afghanistan, a peaceful, helpful, loving man.

Through Ken’s vivid descriptions of his inner and outer world as well as the history and culture of the places he worked and the organizations he worked for, I’ve been changed. He’s given me much needed insight, understanding and emotional connection to a world I have watched from afar.

War Torn opened my eyes much wider to a world I knew existed, but couldn’t feel. I feel it now, and so will you.

[Teddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When someone hears the term PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), most think of soldiers who were on the battle field. However, it also affects victims of war, violence, rape etc (any trauma). Kenneth Miller examines all of these issues in ‘War Torn’.

Ken traveled to Guatemala to help evaluate a mental health intervention designed for indigenous children. He didn’t really find much there so there wasn’t a lot to actually evaluate. He covers the history of war, genocide, and poverty of indigenous people. He found it hard to set up mental health programs for various reasons. He also traveled to Mexico and other countries with violet histories as well.

So, you are probably thinking that ‘War Torn’ is a depressing book with little hope. That is not the case. Yes, some of it is depressing. How can it not be, reading about people’s situations with war, violence, loss, etc? You would have to be heartless. However, also buried between the covers are pearls of hope, wisdom, humor, and resilience.

‘War Torn’ should be required reading for high school. I know some parents want to shelter their teenagers from these realities but I think it is important to educate them on this issue. They are the future and will have to continue to deal with and hopefully learn how to prevent the devastation so many people have had to endure.

‘War Torn’ is hard to put down and riveting, it read very fast. Kenneth Miller tells of his discoveries in a way that is not preachy. His writing style is excellent and he really draws you in. Highly recommended!

[Kristin Scearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest (not necessarily positive) review.

I'll start by saying it seems a little odd to say I "liked" this book, considering the content contained within. However, it's very well written, and I felt not only educated on PTSD and other war-related issues but also on the different warring areas themselves. I can honestly admit that I didn't know a lot of the background for many of the locations described in these pages, and I felt the author did a wonderful job at giving information to those like me who might not be fully aware of what was happening, while also keeping it geared more toward the work he and his partners were doing for the victims/refugees/etc.

I have a Psychology degree, but this is written in such a way that anyone from any walk of life could pick it up and read from cover to cover without being confused or having to do any additional research to figure out certain thing. It's a powerful piece about places and situations that we, as Americans, may not be entirely knowledgeable about, and I commend the author for writing about his experiences over these past 20 years. It could not have been easy to experience these things, as it's difficult to even read some of them, and I can only imagine what it was like to speak with these people firsthand and hear their stories day in and day out.

5 stars, and a very educational read for those both in and out of the Psychology/Social Work professions.

[Cindelu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads. It was an incredible, heartbreaking story of the people of the world who have suffered in wars , terror attacks and genocide. Many of them for years, over and over again. People who lost their entire families to unthinkable violence. People who have nowhere to go to rest their heads. People who have lost everything. For over 20 years Kenneth Miller has attempted to understand and help these people in their loss and grief. His story is amazing to read.

[Lauren Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When we think of refugees, it’s natural that images of war come immediately to mind. But it would have been a stretch to explain Miguel’s suicidal behavior as a result of the war in Guatemala. He’d clearly been affected by the harsh dynamics of family life in the refugee camps of Mexico. I never got to know his mother well, and have no idea why she was so tough on her kids. Maybe she’d been hit especially hard by the violence and loss of the war, or the deprivations of life in the camp. But then, everyone in the community had their own war stories; everyone was living with the same poverty and landlessness, the separation from relatives across the border. For most parents, that didn’t translate into rage at their children, and for most kids, that never led to a piece of rope hanging from a rafter. Pick up any research article on the mental health of refugee children, and until recently, you’d have found that most of their distress, their sadness and worries, were assumed to be the result of whatever war they’d escaped from. We know better now. It’s seldom just about the war."

The passage above is strong, influential, empowering, yet depressing as well. This author’s journey through places like Guatemala, Mexico, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sri-Lanka are all hard to explain, even harder to endure and quite impossible to come back from as the same person you once were. These concepts of war, mental trauma and grief, genocide, and torture are difficult to read, but this author’s message is something other than pain. This author writes, several times throughout the stories, about how his research and the research of others in the refugee camps document that people have found ways to hold onto life. The lives of those that suffered immeasurably have forever been altered and they still survive.

Miller takes the reader through his journeys, his research, and the stories that were relayed to him through friends and acquaintances. What this author has accomplished can be classified as causing a “deep impact” in the psychological world, but as he states in a few of the stories, he would never have imagined the trauma, nor how to help those who have suffered from the affects of war by reading a book. It has to be lived, experienced and treated based on the vulnerability of the camp as it is related to the region. Each area needed a different resolution, but the trauma like PTSD, did reflect somewhat of a pattern. Miller writes about how he felt lighter in Mexico, but had a very heavy heart in Guatemala, afraid of what was around the corner after hearing stories about the death squads and military corruption against the Mayan people. Other instances consist of when he traveled to Afghanistan and Iraq, and began seeing the affects of the warlords and their decimation over the population. Still, the main goal was to help those who had become victimized by trauma, torture and the insufferable tyranny of corruption.

"People can be in an awful lot of pain and still get through the day successfully. The hurt is real, but in the idiosyncratic world of Western psychiatry, it doesn’t merit a diagnosis. Perhaps that’s a good thing; it avoids pathologizing people who are actually managing their lives well despite their inner distress. On the negative side, well, there’s that inner distress. If a diagnosis means better access to help, it can be a very useful thing."

Last thoughts for this non-fiction. Miller has a brilliant piece, one that it credible and very eye-opening. There is plenty of courage, love and resilience in this book, but it comes at desperate times and often unforgivable situations. Miller has figured out how to capture the heart of strength, the meaning of love in a life or death situation and the courage to continue the fight in an unfair and cruel world. This book is expertly written and easy to follow. War Torn is broken up into several different stories based on country, allowing the pace to flow very quickly. If you are a reader of non-fiction, historical events and psychological studies, this may be down your alley. It is highly recommended, since there is a lot of good information that can be learned and Turning Another Page provides this book with five stars.

An advanced reader copy of this book was provided to Turning Another Page by the author, but this in no way affects our honest opinion of the book or the review that has been written.

[Gayle Pace · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY THOUGHTS

Whether you are fighting in a war, parents, relatives, loved ones or the ones the soldiers are fighting for, they are all part of the war. This subject isn't a pleasant one. There is such pain during and after a war. Losses in death, injuries, PTSD, so much we want to push aside and not think about. The hearts and minds of these men and women will never be the same again. But the author also gave us the other side of these dark moments, the courage, the many heroes, both in the wars and at home, the selflessness of fighting to keep people free. These men and women know when they go to fight, they may not come back, but they aren't thinking of themselves. They're thinking of the many people who may lose their freedom, their lives, their homes and everything they have. There is a glimmer of hope and light at the end of that long dark tunnel, and the author expresses that. Us at home, have no idea what these men and women in war zones are going through. Some come through it, come home and say they're fine, but are they? Some come home and aren't fine and they know it. Will they ever be the same? How can they ever, any of them, be the same as they were before the wars? The author will grab deep into your heart and soul with this book. Emotions will take over and tears may flow. This book isn't for those who want to look the other way. It isn't for the the unemotional, those who think it doesn't affect them. It's reality and whether you like it or not, it's real and has been for years and years.


I received this book from the author, Kenneth E. Miller and Virtual Author Book Tours and voluntarily decided to review it.

[Chuck Wimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review. I'm a navy veteran and am currently involved with the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans organizations. I tell you this because our military and civilians in harms way deserve and need our support. The individual stories in the War Torn are thought provoking and a reminder that how great our country is. In a time where we (not me) can't unify on proper protocol when addressing our nations colors -- along comes this masterpiece. Yes we as a country have our issues but ladies and gentleman, there is far worse. Read this book and ask yourself -- how can I help? Call your local Veterans Hospital to volunteer or make a donation to a veterans charity. War Torn couldn't have been published at a better time. This should be required reading for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump. 10 Stars and I am saluting this book

[Polly Krize · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gritty and real, this account details the effects of the deportation and exile on many of the world's population. Author Miller and his wife started their research through volunteering in refugee camps in the early 90s. Life in these camps is lonely, hopeless, and difficult, with problems ranging from schooling to medical attention.