R&R

Read

Eat the Apple

Matt Young

Eat the Apple is a daring, twisted, and darkly hilarious story of American youth and masculinity in an age of continuous war. Matt Young joined the Marine Corps at age eighteen after a drunken night culminating in wrapping his car around a fire hydrant. The teenage wasteland he fled followed him to the training bases charged with making him a Marine. Matt survived the training and then not one, not two, but three deployments to Iraq, where the testosterone, danger, and stakes for him and his fellow grunts were dialed up a dozen decibels.

Forgotten Heroes

Edward Lee Smith

In Forgotten Heroes, author Edward Lee Smith shares his life story — from his birth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; to growing up in North Carolina during the Great Depression under the oppressive Jim Crow laws that pervaded the South; to his relatively happy teen years during World War II; to the bloody combat in Korea during the counter offensive of 1951; to joining the National Guard and working his way up to lieutenant colonel.

8 Seconds of Courage

Flo Groberg and Tom Sileo

A story of valor and the making of a hero — Florent “Flo” Groberg, who grew up in France, emigrated to the US, and was the first immigrant in 40 years to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor after he saved many lives by tackling a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. 8 Seconds of Courage is a story of heroism, sacrifice and camaraderie in wartime.

Crazy Me: How I Lost Reality and Found Myself

D. Thomas Bixby

Crazy Me is a moving personal account of a 22-year old war veteran’s fight against the paranoia, mental anarchy and debilitating despair of PTSD with schizophrenia; the “split mind’ of the disease is revealed as an internal battle between a long hidden natural self and a false self created to survive a world of childhood illness, physical abuse, and emotional repression of the horrors of war. Written by D. Thomas Bixby, an awardwinning writer and director, as well as a survivor of PTSD and schizophrenia.

Downsized

Richard C. Anderson

In Queens, New York, Jim Marsh, an Iraq vet with PTSD, has adapted well to civilian life and is on his way up the corporate ladder. A devoted husband with a wife, two young children, and a new house, he is living the American dream. His employer is engaged in a merger that should bring him a well-deserved promotion. And that’s when he finds it all crashing down around him. In this novel, a man who believes he has lost everything finds himself desperate enough to involve himself in schemes he could never have imagined in his old life.

What Am I Doing Here?

Jim Kesey

What Am I Doing Here? is a story that takes an otherwise terrifying event in American history that is familiar to all veterans and brings it into a realm of understanding for the families of those who were there. Jim Kesey weaves a suble but perfectly orchestrated humor through an environment of chaos in this novel that offers a rare look at what it was like to spend a tour in Vietnam.

Volunteer

Transition Projects www.tprojects.org/volunteer/

Transition Projects helps people transition from homelessness to housing. Each year, the nonprofit helps more than 10,000 people through a broad array of services, resources and tools. Those interested in volunteering must attend a mandatory voluntary orientation session. For more information, contact Tamara Chacoh at tamara@tprojects.com or 503-280-4741.

See

The 15:17 to Paris, Warner Bros. (2018) www.1517toparis.com

From Clint Eastwood comes The 15:17 to Paris, which tells the real-life story of three men whose brave actions turned them into heroes during a high-speed railway ride. One of those real-life heroes is Oregonian Alek Skarlatos, a resident of Roseburg, who also stars in the film.

Connect

Lift For The 22 www.liftforthe22.org/join.php

Lift For The 22, a national nonprofit providing free gym memberships to veterans, aims to fight suicide in the veteran community by promoting fitness as a new transitional tool. Over a dozen gyms in Oregon currently participate in the program. Apply for a free, one-year membership to a gym near you by visiting the group’s website.

Relax

The Fallen Outdoors thefallenoutdoors.com

The Fallen Outdoors facilitates hunting and fishing adventures for veterans from every generation and all branches of the military. These experiences are designed to help veterans cope with stressors and issues they may be dealing with while connecting with like-minded individuals. To join, visit thefallenoutdoors.com/ourground/west-coast.