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Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War
"A unique joint memoir by a U.S. Marine and a conflict photographer, whose unlikely friendship helped both heal their war-wounded bodies and souls War tears people apart, but it can also bring them together. Through the unpredictability of war and its aftermath, a decorated Marine sergeant and a world-trotting war photographer became friends, their bond forged as they patrolled together through the dusty alleyways of Helmand province and camped side by side in the desert. It deepened after Sergeant TJ Brennan was injured during a Taliban ambush, and both returned home. Brennan began to suffer from the effects of his injury and from the fallout of his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. But war correspondents experience similar rates of post-traumatic stress as combat veterans. The causes can be different, but guilt plays a prominent role in both. For Brennan, it's the things he's done, or didn't do, that haunt him. Finbarr O'Reilly's conscience is nagged by the task of photographing people at their most vulnerable while being able to do little to help, and his survival guilt as colleagues die on the job. Their friendship offered them both a shot at redemption."--Provided by publisher.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 22, 2017
65 people are currently reading
1025 people want to read
About the author
Thomas J. Brennan
2 books19 followersThomas is a father, husband, and the founder of The War Horse — his passion is writing about war, trauma, and loss.Prior to studying at Columbia University, he was a sergeant in the Marine Corps and served as an infantryman in Iraq and Afghanistan with the First Battalion, Eighth Marines. Thomas is the co-author of Shooting Ghosts — A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
August 30, 2017
I met O'Reilly and Brennan at a writer's retreat in 2016 and liked both of them immensely. Their friendship is inspiring and their book shows why. In alternating chapters, they tell how they were drawn to war, how they reveled in the rush of risking life and limb, how they endured the horrors of war, and how they succumbed to its traumas. This is a book about how two men came to realize their friendship could save them from the abyss and give their lives meaning again. They are candid about their own failings, about the ups and downs of recovery, and the healing power of helping others.
I reviewed Shooting Ghosts for AlterNet and recommend it for anyone who wants to know the American way of war.
See: http://www.alternet.org/how-men-recov...
I reviewed Shooting Ghosts for AlterNet and recommend it for anyone who wants to know the American way of war.
See: http://www.alternet.org/how-men-recov...
September 17, 2017
This story is important. That's the best thing I can say about it. It's a story that needs to be told and needs to be heard. The writing is solid throughout, but more importantly, the story takes you on a journey from horrifying places I'll never be able to imagine to what happens in the aftermath of being in those places. It explores mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and PTSD. It examines the level of disservice the military does for its heroes once they return. It's important for people to know about these issues.
TJ's story is heartbreaking and, if you've ever known anyone who's been in the military, relatable to some degree. His matter-of-fact writing style often makes the story he's telling even harder to read, but it's important to read it. It's important to know what folks are going through--especially if you're like me and have virtually no experience with war or the people connected to it.
I first heard TJ and Finnbar's story on Fresh Air on NPR, and at the time, I wondered why a photojournalist was part of this or what he could possibly contribute to the story, but at times reading the book, Finnbar's sections were equally enlightening and just as jarring as TJ's. Finnbar explores the topics in an academic way, which is very complementary to TJ's emotional storytelling.
I give this book four stars because the writing is good and makes sense for the story being told, but more importantly, because I think this is a story everyone should hear--especially if they're not personally connected to the military.
TJ's story is heartbreaking and, if you've ever known anyone who's been in the military, relatable to some degree. His matter-of-fact writing style often makes the story he's telling even harder to read, but it's important to read it. It's important to know what folks are going through--especially if you're like me and have virtually no experience with war or the people connected to it.
I first heard TJ and Finnbar's story on Fresh Air on NPR, and at the time, I wondered why a photojournalist was part of this or what he could possibly contribute to the story, but at times reading the book, Finnbar's sections were equally enlightening and just as jarring as TJ's. Finnbar explores the topics in an academic way, which is very complementary to TJ's emotional storytelling.
I give this book four stars because the writing is good and makes sense for the story being told, but more importantly, because I think this is a story everyone should hear--especially if they're not personally connected to the military.
January 23, 2018
I really enjoyed this book about war, from both sides — that of a combat photographer and of a U.S. Marine. Photojournalist Finbarr O'Reilly and Sgt. TJ Brennan first met while both stationed at an outpost in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. The similarities shared (PTSD, depression, frustration with the system in getting help, and the maddening mistreatment of employees by both the military and journalism institutions) when returning home from conflict forged from the things they experienced and witnessed while doing their jobs makes their bond even stronger. It's incredibly well written and moving.
(I heard a terrific interview with both men on NPR's Fresh Air that compelled me to read this: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...)
(I heard a terrific interview with both men on NPR's Fresh Air that compelled me to read this: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...)
August 27, 2017
Shooting Ghosts is a fresh and innovative look at a subject that has frustrated and compelled storytellers for years: war, as it unfolds on a personal level. The story follows Thomas Brennan, a Marine who is physically traumatized by war, and changed by what he sees and does in Afghanistan, and Finbarr O'Reilly, a gifted photojournalist who follows and photographs Thomas during his journey in war and back home.
It's difficult to say which part of the book is more compelling, the written stories or the photographs. Despite the integration of both together, each tell different stories, and are written from different perspectives. For me, reading as I do so many war stories, there's something powerful about having images to evaluate, into which to grow roots while the rest of the story unfolds. The photographs are memorable, arresting even—they do not leave you, because you can't avoid or idealize them the way one might a sentence that one's used to envision a man's face whom you've never met.
It's difficult to say which part of the book is more compelling, the written stories or the photographs. Despite the integration of both together, each tell different stories, and are written from different perspectives. For me, reading as I do so many war stories, there's something powerful about having images to evaluate, into which to grow roots while the rest of the story unfolds. The photographs are memorable, arresting even—they do not leave you, because you can't avoid or idealize them the way one might a sentence that one's used to envision a man's face whom you've never met.
August 10, 2018
Sadly engrossing telling of two people who met in Afghanistan. One was a soldier, the other a photographer. Told in alternating voices, the story covers their initial meeting and the development of their relationship, the doubts, their strengths, their mistakes, their other relationships, and mostly their attempts to return to a "normal" life after experiencing the tragedies of war and suffering PTSD. This book was recommended to me by one of T.J.'s teachers.
I'm glad she did.
I'm glad she did.
November 18, 2020
A brave, intimate, harrowing memoir of life after war written by a soldier and a journalist who describe their struggles reacclimating. I have read many books on war and military, and this title impressed me with its detailed exploration of personal, psychosocial details that really bring the book to life.
May 17, 2018
This book is not really what I expected. I don't know why, but I thought most of the book would be about combat, but that's really covered in the first third, and the rest is about recovery. It's an important book, but it meanders a bit in the telling.
February 17, 2018
Detailed account of what war looks like and how it affects those who engage in them or have to cover them for international press agencies.
This book tells, in graphic detail, the horrors of war. Reading it will help folks understand why war is so horrible and places scars on those who fight them which last forever. It is a must read for all who care about Veterans to help them better understand the invisible scars that Veterans carry for the rest of their lives.
Welcome Home Finbarr and TJ, thank you for your service.
This book tells, in graphic detail, the horrors of war. Reading it will help folks understand why war is so horrible and places scars on those who fight them which last forever. It is a must read for all who care about Veterans to help them better understand the invisible scars that Veterans carry for the rest of their lives.
Welcome Home Finbarr and TJ, thank you for your service.
November 20, 2017
“People rarely consider it, but war correspondents experience similar rates of post-traumatic stress as combat veterans.” That statement by co-author Finbarr O’Reilly is the key to understanding this entire, two-man war journal. Born in South Wales, raised in Dublin, Ireland and later Vancouver, British Columbia, as a foreigner, combat photographer O’Reilly provides his readers here a brutally candid view of America’s recent armed conflicts in Iran and Afghanistan. When it comes to war-inflicted PTSD, O’Reilly suggests “the causes can be different, but guilt plays a prominent role for both” those who cover war as journalists and those who fight them.
“For TJ, (U.S. Marine Thomas J. Brennan), it’s the things he’s done, or didn’t do, that haunt him.” O’Reilly writes, “My own conscience is nagged by the fact that I am paid to photograph people at their most vulnerable while I’m able to do little to help.” Although I don’t recall O’Reilly or his co-author Brennan stating it, it’s apparent that it was Brennan’s haunting memories and O’Reilly’s nagging conscience that explains this book’s title. This two-man memoir chronicles their individual and cooperative efforts at taking “a shot at redemption.” To confront Brennan’s “altered reality,” (shooting ghosts), that is the single focus here.
“Collaborating with (Brennan on this book, O’Reilly writes), restored something within me at a time when I was confronting my own struggles (ghosts) in the wake of war.” The British/Canadian cameraman believes, “It took getting to know each other for us to understand what trauma means, what it does to those who live with it, and how to cope.” O’Reilly says, “We are still learning.”
Brennan’s writing partner sums it all up in the prologue: This book is “about one low-ranking individual who carried out his nation’s order to fight and is forced to live with the consequences of his government’s actions. What makes this retrospective unique among all the post-war analysis of American armed conflicts is here we have a U.S. citizen with a U.S. soldier’s point of view meeting a British-Canadian with a decidedly anti-American point of view. This personal war diary documents how the war stories lived and told by two polar opposites “became entangled.”
Both authors take turns untangling those stories. Neither one pulls any punches when it comes to the U.S. and its prosecution of recent Middle Eastern wars. O’Reilly speaks of “the monumental failure of the U.S. government to provide adequate care for those who have fought and served overseas.” It’s interesting to read O’Reilly’s take on America. The one-time British Columbia resident writes, “Canadians . . . tend to view the United States as the world’s biggest super bully.” O’Reilly points out what he describes as the U.S.A.’s “overt patriotism, permissive gun laws and hawkish politicians.” He suggests Canada’s “southern neighbor sometimes seems like a hypermilitarized nation on steroids.”
As for America’s role in stopping the Taliban in Afghanistan, O’Reilly writes, “(Brennan) believes the war (was) mostly a senseless waste of resources, with life and limb being sacrificed for a resentful population that only wants them gone.” If O’Reilly and Brennan are correct, “Shooting Ghosts” suggests that American troops are not necessarily fighting for the red-white-and-blue. “We had an American flag (at our post in Afghanistan),” Brennan writes, “but it wasn’t why we fought. We had pictures of our families, but they weren’t our reason either. I fought to bring (his squad) all home alive. Everything else was secondary.”
For those who care about the thousands of war veterans who return to civilian life with TBI, (traumatic brain injuries), this is an eye-opening read. Brennan’s new career as a journalist and his hard “work on military mental health” issues is to be applauded.
“For TJ, (U.S. Marine Thomas J. Brennan), it’s the things he’s done, or didn’t do, that haunt him.” O’Reilly writes, “My own conscience is nagged by the fact that I am paid to photograph people at their most vulnerable while I’m able to do little to help.” Although I don’t recall O’Reilly or his co-author Brennan stating it, it’s apparent that it was Brennan’s haunting memories and O’Reilly’s nagging conscience that explains this book’s title. This two-man memoir chronicles their individual and cooperative efforts at taking “a shot at redemption.” To confront Brennan’s “altered reality,” (shooting ghosts), that is the single focus here.
“Collaborating with (Brennan on this book, O’Reilly writes), restored something within me at a time when I was confronting my own struggles (ghosts) in the wake of war.” The British/Canadian cameraman believes, “It took getting to know each other for us to understand what trauma means, what it does to those who live with it, and how to cope.” O’Reilly says, “We are still learning.”
Brennan’s writing partner sums it all up in the prologue: This book is “about one low-ranking individual who carried out his nation’s order to fight and is forced to live with the consequences of his government’s actions. What makes this retrospective unique among all the post-war analysis of American armed conflicts is here we have a U.S. citizen with a U.S. soldier’s point of view meeting a British-Canadian with a decidedly anti-American point of view. This personal war diary documents how the war stories lived and told by two polar opposites “became entangled.”
Both authors take turns untangling those stories. Neither one pulls any punches when it comes to the U.S. and its prosecution of recent Middle Eastern wars. O’Reilly speaks of “the monumental failure of the U.S. government to provide adequate care for those who have fought and served overseas.” It’s interesting to read O’Reilly’s take on America. The one-time British Columbia resident writes, “Canadians . . . tend to view the United States as the world’s biggest super bully.” O’Reilly points out what he describes as the U.S.A.’s “overt patriotism, permissive gun laws and hawkish politicians.” He suggests Canada’s “southern neighbor sometimes seems like a hypermilitarized nation on steroids.”
As for America’s role in stopping the Taliban in Afghanistan, O’Reilly writes, “(Brennan) believes the war (was) mostly a senseless waste of resources, with life and limb being sacrificed for a resentful population that only wants them gone.” If O’Reilly and Brennan are correct, “Shooting Ghosts” suggests that American troops are not necessarily fighting for the red-white-and-blue. “We had an American flag (at our post in Afghanistan),” Brennan writes, “but it wasn’t why we fought. We had pictures of our families, but they weren’t our reason either. I fought to bring (his squad) all home alive. Everything else was secondary.”
For those who care about the thousands of war veterans who return to civilian life with TBI, (traumatic brain injuries), this is an eye-opening read. Brennan’s new career as a journalist and his hard “work on military mental health” issues is to be applauded.
December 28, 2019
I read this book earlier in the year, while attending a war photography conference that focused on immediate and long term effects of photographing in conflict zones. In attendance were many of the photographers mentioned in the book.
Shooting Ghosts brings home a version of what many of the photographers described, the power and immediacy of reportage through imagery and the long-term psychological repercussions that go with that work.
A unique, exceptional book that I'd describe as a joint-memoir. Canadian photojournalist Finbarr O'Reilly is embedded with U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. Marine Sgt. T.J. Brennan is landed with a Canadian photojournalist that he 'babysits' while his team patrols Helmand Province. Brennan receives a head injury during a patrol, minimizes it's significance when receiving treatment, and experiences PTSD when he is ultimately discharged. O'Reilly, after years of photographing conflict zones, is let to from Reuters, and years of the psychological effects of photographing trauma close finally catch up with him.
Shooting Ghosts contains two separately written memoirs joined together by each other's participation in recovery. O'Reilly and Brennan come from different backgrounds and had different roles, but both share the similarity of experiencing trauma through working in conflict zones and the debilitating effects of limited professional psychological assistance. Recommended.
Shooting Ghosts brings home a version of what many of the photographers described, the power and immediacy of reportage through imagery and the long-term psychological repercussions that go with that work.
A unique, exceptional book that I'd describe as a joint-memoir. Canadian photojournalist Finbarr O'Reilly is embedded with U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. Marine Sgt. T.J. Brennan is landed with a Canadian photojournalist that he 'babysits' while his team patrols Helmand Province. Brennan receives a head injury during a patrol, minimizes it's significance when receiving treatment, and experiences PTSD when he is ultimately discharged. O'Reilly, after years of photographing conflict zones, is let to from Reuters, and years of the psychological effects of photographing trauma close finally catch up with him.
Shooting Ghosts contains two separately written memoirs joined together by each other's participation in recovery. O'Reilly and Brennan come from different backgrounds and had different roles, but both share the similarity of experiencing trauma through working in conflict zones and the debilitating effects of limited professional psychological assistance. Recommended.
January 11, 2018
"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."
-General James (Mad dog) Mattis
"The more I interact with the VA, the more I want to distance myself from them. I'm repeatedly told that Cannabis is evil, but asked if I need opiates for chronic pain."
T.J. Brennan USMC
-General James (Mad dog) Mattis
"The more I interact with the VA, the more I want to distance myself from them. I'm repeatedly told that Cannabis is evil, but asked if I need opiates for chronic pain."
T.J. Brennan USMC
November 2, 2017
I had the privilege of winning this book with the goodreads giveaways. I felt that the book was very interesting. It dealt with a marine and a war photographer and how they crossed paths in Afghanistan. Both share their trials, pains, and experiences in a very descriptive way. This book helped me see that there is a lot that goes on currently in the world and many Americans are blind to it. We have a lot of military personal who serve overseas coming back to America in pain and hurt. For those who don't serve its a reminder of the sacrifice that is given. It was very interesting to see from the standpoint of a military photographer his struggles with PDST. One would never think that someone who is holding a camera and taking pictures suffers anything, but in fact they too are in the thick of the battle. If you want a double perspective of the current war over seas this is the book you need to read.
July 21, 2018
Written by two authors, although their writings are so amazingly alike - Thomas Brennan is a Marine and Finbarr O'Reilly a war journalist. They both experience trauma in 2010 in Afghanistan and they both work hard to recover from it. The language is insightful, poignant and educational. There is no physical connection in our brains between the rational brain in the prefrontal lobes and our emotional brain in the limbic system; we cannot control how we feel and need to rely on the medial prefrontal to mediate. One working theory on trauma is that the body reset to interpret the world as a dangerous place, in the deep recesses of the brain; perhaps exposure therapy is one of the worst because it desensitizes to suffering; it seems mindfulness definitely helped Finbarr. EMDR also seems effective. Finbarr spent some time in Israel, which he describes as a most heartless place.
November 4, 2017
I mean...I have nothing but respect for what both of these men have done and for their rough journeys back from it, truly, and there's a lot of interesting details in their stories and philosophical/sociological ponderings about the culture of war and returning from war. And I love that two people coming from different sides of the equation and totally different personal backgrounds were able to come together in the sort of partnership that made this book happen. HOWEVER, there's a lot of memoirish navel-gazing on both their parts, too, and my primary feeling after a while was just "dang, I really do not like either of these guys AT ALL," so in that respect...hmmm, it really needed better editing and a tighter focus in order to succeed, for me.
November 17, 2017
War, brotherhood, death, injury, politics, loss, love, marriage, depression -- it's all in this book, woven together in a thoughtful and compelling fashion by two men, each transiting their own passages through life's inevitable, yet not necessarily programmed changes -- from youth to maturity, passion to commitment, darkness to light. Tying two separate, yet twined together narratives are the alternating chapters by retired Marine Thomas "TJ" Brennan and award winning photojournalist Finnbar O'Reilly. The two met and bonded when O'Reilly was embedded with TJ's marine squad in remote outpost Kunjak in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. The joint and separate odysseys each detail in the book are richly textured and unsparing in honesty. I can't recommend the book more highly.
September 11, 2017
We have all read stories about the horrors of war. "Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War" details the trials and hardships endured by two men as they transition to civilian life after tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the volatile regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The problems they face, and how they deal with them, are described in minute detail, to the point that some of the language may be offensive to some people. This is not an easy read, and even touches on some of the recent problems reported at various VA locations. Still, it is an eye-opening story about something we are probably aware of, but do not want to acknowledge.
August 22, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed this in audiobook version. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did but there is so much honesty and humanity within the pages that it reminded me of David Finkel's incredible Thank You For Your Service.
Raw and unfiltered from both perspectives provides an interesting perspective on war and how it impacts those who partake but also those who observe. It becomes clear that when you are involved at the front line in unimaginable stressful situations it becomes difficult to separate yourself from it.
Definitely worth a read / listen.
Raw and unfiltered from both perspectives provides an interesting perspective on war and how it impacts those who partake but also those who observe. It becomes clear that when you are involved at the front line in unimaginable stressful situations it becomes difficult to separate yourself from it.
Definitely worth a read / listen.
December 14, 2017
Absolutely fantastic. Should be required reading of military leaders, as well as their friends and family. The perspectives shared on war and its aftermath from both a military and civilian side are vivid and heartbreaking. I would recommend this book a thousand times over the “hooyah” books about war, which don’t actually delve into the terrors and moral injury associated with combat. I look forward to reading more by TJ Brennan and following his career in journalism and activism - if this book is any indication, it looks promising.
May 17, 2018
As a Marine veteran and photographer I figured I'd pick this book up because it looked interesting and I had extra credits to burn with Audible. I'm not quite finished with it yet, but it has left me open and raw in a good way. It is WELL worth the listen. I plan on sharing the book with my wife once I'm finished with it, and I highly recommend it to anyone that knows anyone who has been through combat.
January 7, 2019
This is not an easy book to read but it is well written and thought provoking as the authors explore their different roles in combat settings, the devastating effects that war has had on their mental health and the challenges they both have in seeking help and coming to terms with their new reality. For me, there was the added perspective of knowing the family of one of the authors, but not really being aware of the circumstances of his life's work.
March 11, 2021
This is the story of a photojournalist who is a veteran of many conflicts and a Marine sergeant bonding in a remote outpost in Afghanistan told from each of their viewpoints. It is also a tale of how both dealt with their PTSD after returning as well as the TBI experienced by the Marine. While the photojournalist had access to civilian help, the Marine battled ignorance, distain, and apathy from both the Marine Corps and the VA. In the end, they overcame their injury.
September 22, 2017
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This story follows Thomas Brennan, a Marine who is physically traumatized by war, and changed by what he sees and does in Afghanistan, and Finbarr O'Reilly, a gifted photojournalist who follows and photographs Thomas during his journey in war and back home. Very good book. It grabs your heart, I couldn't imagine being there and seeing those things.
This story follows Thomas Brennan, a Marine who is physically traumatized by war, and changed by what he sees and does in Afghanistan, and Finbarr O'Reilly, a gifted photojournalist who follows and photographs Thomas during his journey in war and back home. Very good book. It grabs your heart, I couldn't imagine being there and seeing those things.
December 3, 2017
A well written account of the trauma and anguish of wittenessing the affects of war. Both writers give exceptional accounts of the tasks faced when returning home. A must read, in my opinion, for those whom have never had to experience war on the "fronts"; it will give you a greater appreication for our men and women whom experience and serve to give us the freedom we have back here at home.
January 2, 2019
Got bogged down in the part set in Afghanistan, but decided to skip ahead rather than abandon the book, and it did get more interesting to me once the protagonists were out of the war zone. My cousin committed suicide shortly after returning from Vietnam, so I am always concerned with the effects of war on the military personnel experiencing it.
July 28, 2020
Really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't capture my attention. It employs a clever narrative style employing two authors, a warrior and a photojournalist, on their journey toward salvation after experiencing the horrors of war. See? It seems great. And it might be, for someone else, but it just wasn't it for me.
February 13, 2018
Thought provoking read
This was a very eye opening book. I never thought about photojournalists suffering from PTSD. Finn’s story really opened my eyes. TJ’s story brings out the true lack of concern or understanding of PTSD by the USMC.
This was a very eye opening book. I never thought about photojournalists suffering from PTSD. Finn’s story really opened my eyes. TJ’s story brings out the true lack of concern or understanding of PTSD by the USMC.
October 16, 2018
It was a little rough at the beginning, but stick with it! Especially if you’ve ever served in a branch of the military. These two men wrestle some huge issues and come out the other side. You can learn a lot about the plight of the returning soldier and a combat photographer.
November 5, 2024
Complex and deeply moving. The author skillfully tackles difficult subjects without making the story feel heavy or overwrought. The emotional depth and raw honesty of the characters make this a powerful, unforgettable read.
September 10, 2017
Well written and informative memoir from a war correspondent and Marine. Focuses on war and its aftermath. I flew through it and have the utmost respect for both authors.
October 19, 2017
Fabulous. Well-written; a great collaboration. Between co-authors.
Heart-breaking. Smart. Sheds insight I didn't have...
Heart-breaking. Smart. Sheds insight I didn't have...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews