A poetry book about a Marines journey through War, PTSD, Addiction and Recovery. It gives insight to a combat veterans struggles upon returning home from war. Anyone who has lived through Trauma and fell into addiction can relate. "Scars of War/A Journey Through War, Addiction and Recovery."
http://web.me.com/scarsofwar
My name is Ethan Lucas and I am an Iraq War Veteran with the USMC. I served through 2002-2006. I completed two combat tours in Iraq. The poetry book I wrote, “Scars of War/A Journey Through War, Addiction and Recovery”, is about a Marines journey through war, PTSD, addiction and recovery. It gives insight to a combat veterans struggles upon returning home from war. Anyone who has lived through Trauma and fell into addiction can relate.
Below is the link to my web-site so you can learn a little bit more about me. While going through treatment I noticed their was no material written or aimed at my generation. I think this will reach a large audience and put today’s problems in today’s terms. I had a book reading at the Long Beach, Borders in August. I got incredible feed back and think this will help many avoid going down the same road I went.
Excerpt
I am a US Marine, not a former or ex Marine; once a Marine always a Marine. I became an alcoholic in 2004 following my second combat tour in Iraq. I joined five months after 9/11 to ensure that another tragedy like that would never happen again on American soil. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and used alcohol to numb myself. My alcohol problem became unmanageable, not when I drank just to hide from the nightmares, intrusive thoughts, survivors guilt and anxiety I experienced after combat. It became unmanageable when I thought I needed it and couldnʼt function without it. I became homeless (I ended up sleeping on my mothers couch for a few months) jobless, and loveless; the love of my life left me due to my alcohol dependency and because of the way I acted when I drank. I lost my pride and honor and I contemplated suicide. I was arrested numerous times and spent nights in the ER - I broke my leg so severely I had no choice but to have surgery. I had my nose broken, and suffered numerous fractures in my cheeks as a result of fighting while drunk. Also I have done things to others which I am not proud of. Sobriety has changed my life. It is a fight I have to win. Failure is unavoidable death. I know firsthand what alcoholism leads to; my father died from a combination of alcoholism and smoking. He started both while in the Navy. He died at age 52 from cancer. He developed bladder cancer and had to have it removed. He tried Chemo and Radiation but nothing worked. He lived five long painful years after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer; years longer than the doctors expected him to. The disease ate him alive and, even in the face of death, he continued to drink. Iʼll never forget the pain in his face the last couple of years he was with us. Not a day went by that he wasnʼt suffering. He was on every pain killer and medication you can imagine. Alcoholism had such a hold of him, as it does many, that he drank until the day he died. It didnʼt just kill him. It hurt our entire family, both emotionally and financially, seeing that he was the bread winner. My mother had to work two jobs and move from our single family home with a yard into an apartment. She held my family together through those tough times. My mother is the strongest person I know. Many in her situation would have given up. Often is the case with alcoholism and death, the pain of losing a loved one is just the start of despair for those left behind. Before long, I found myself on the same path as my father. I knew I had to do something or I would share his fate. I miss him everyday and believe that if he would have gotten the help he needed to become sober he might still be here. We all have choices in life. Make the choice that gives you life. The reason I shared a little look into my life is to show how trauma and suffering can be a forbearer to alcoholism. It could be from losing a parent or a loved one, or from any other personally traumatic event. Or many problems, that we all encounter in our lives: losing a job, divorce, foreclosure on your home or financial problems, which is often the case in this ongoing economical crisis.
Regardless of the situation, many turn to alcohol and other substances to escape life's problems. At first drinking becomes an escape, but eventually you canʼt escape drinking. Society glorifies drinking however the truth is it infects our entire society; everyone from our youth to our elderly. No less harmful to our body and mind than Crack, Meth, Heroin, and PCP. That said, itʼs true that some drink in moderation and know when to stop. This book is not for those individuals. The truth is many canʼt. I believe poetry can be interpreted many ways. I feel everyone can relate to what I have been through with my trauma and addiction. I learned a lot about myself and who I am, by listening to others. We all have setbacks in our lives, it just matters how we handle them.
Professional Reviews
Reader
Got your book over the weekend and have to say thank you again so very much for sharing your writing! This will, without a doubt, help many others to find their way. And, I'm sure it will help you in your life's journey. You are such an inspiration!!!
Reader
I just received my copy... it's great!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts so that others may find their way!!
