Aftershock: Fighting War, Surviving Trauma and Finding Peace

by Matthew Green

A gripping and groundbreaking book that tells the inside story of how the men and women we dispatch to fight our battles adapt to life outside the combat zone Over the last decade, we have sent thousands of people to fight on our behalf. But what happens when these soldiers come back home, having lost their friends and killed their enemies, having seen and done things that have no place in civilian life? In Aftershock, Matthew Green tells the story of our veterans' journey from the frontline of combat to the reality of return. Through wide-ranging interviews with former combatants -- including a Royal Marine sniper and a former operator in the SAS - as well as serving personnel and their families, physicians, therapists, and psychiatrists, Aftershock looks beyond the headline-grabbing statistics and the labels of post-traumatic stress disorder to get to the heart of today's post-conflict experience. Green asks what lessons have been learned from past wars, and explores the range of help currently available, from traditional talking cures to cutting-edge scientific therapies. As today's battle-scarred troops begin to lay their weapons down, Aftershock is a hard-hitting account of the hidden cost of conflict. And its message is one that has profound implications, not just for the military, but for anyone with an interest in how we experience trauma and survive.

Genres: Nonfiction, War

315 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

Matthew Green is the author of Aftershock: the untold story of suriving peace, published by Portobello Books, which documents the post-conflict experience of British soldiers.

He has spent the past 14 years working as a correspondent for the Financial Times and Reuters and has reported from more than 30 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. After studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University, he began his career with Reuters, working in east and west Africa and in Iraq, where he was embedded with US Marines during the invasion in 2003. He later joined the Financial Times, working in Nigeria and then Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he spent time with US forces deployed to Helmand and Kandahar provinces in the Obama administration's troop surge.

Green is now based in London and appears regularly as a commentator on the BBC News Channel and World Service radio, and has written for publications including Monocle, Newsweek, FHM and the Literary Review. His first book was The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Joseph Kony, which won a Jerwood Award from the Royal Society of Literature and was long-listed for the Orwell Prize.

Reviews

[Lynne Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book, telling the stories of those men and women who have may have physically survived war and conflict, but for whom the battle still goes on in their minds. A searing indictment of the lack of coherent and meaningful treatment and support for our military and their psychological wounds and how they continue to be failed. Written with tremendous compassion and deeply moving, it should be required reading for every military commander and commissioners of mental health services for serving members of the armed forces, veterans and their families.

[Jim KABLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

From War and Death and All Kinds of Grief Back to “Regular” Life and…?

Matthew Green examines the phenomenon I remember first hearing of as “shell-shock” from the Great War era - but actually, as he reveals, known of far back into literary history and brings it into the present examining the developing mechanisms, theories and treatments used to deal with what most of us understand via the catchall term of PTSD. His compassion for the men and women - the families, the partners - is what most informs his approach and the people he interviews repay his integrity and respect for their experiences. I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to understand why a loved one, an ex-services person - is not their former self, has a short fuse, is prone to drinking, etc - to excess - here are some answers - and not to give up on them…they can be reintegrated into themselves!

[Zittus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give 4 out of 5 stars for only reason that I am not a fan of short stories, no fault of the book itself. There are very honest, beautifully written stories. I also gained wider knowledge of PTSD and TRiM. I would definitely recommend this book to read for people who would like to know more about how such serious events caused by war affects individuals life.

[Elsa Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptional and informative in every way possible. By far the best book I’ve read thus far on the subject of military PTSD. History of discovery and treatment as well as personal soldier’s stories from the consequences of fighting in Afghanistan and World Wars. As a side note; the author of this book author passed away at the age of 48 and this is his last published work.