The Honor Was Mine

Name: The Honor Was Mine
Brand: Brilliance Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Elizabeth Heaney
ISBN: 9781531835071

Author: Elizabeth Heaney

Narrator: Joyce Bean

Unabridged: 9 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook (DRM Protected)

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Published: 09/06/2016

Categories: Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Memoirs, Self-help, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Nonfiction

Synopsis

Winner of the Nautilus Book Award and the Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal.A young combat veteran hides in his closet under a pile of clothes on bad nights. Another, home for five days, can’t figure out how to talk to his wife. And a commander’s spouse recounts the soul-draining effect of attending nearly one hundred memorial services…When therapist Elizabeth Heaney left her private practice to counsel military service members and their families, she came face-to-face with unheard-of struggles and fears. Emotions run deeply—and often silently—in the hearts of combat veterans in this eye-opening portrait of the complex, nuanced lives of service personnel, who return from battling the enemy and grapple with readjusting to civilian life.Presenting the soldiers’ stories—told in their own words—as well as her own story of change, Heaney offers an intimate perspective, not of war itself but of its emotional aftermath. Some of these stories scrape the bone; others are hopeful, even comical. Every one reveals the sacrifices of those on the front lines and the courage, grace, and honor with which they serve.

About Elizabeth Heaney

Elizabeth Heaney, MA, LPC, was a therapist for nearly thirty years before she began counseling military personnel returning from combat or preparing to deploy. She helped service members of all levels, from soldiers fresh out of boot camp to commanders. Heaney continues working in private practice and with the military community.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jess on March 27, 2021

The book should have been captioned as: “A look inside the struggles of a therapist for military veterans”. The introduction starts off deep and raw. We hear the acute pain of a veteran suffering from PTSD. After that we hear more about the “struggles” the therapist faces with acronyms, knowing rank......more

Goodreads review by Cari on February 03, 2017

The Honor Was Mine: A Look Inside the Struggles of Military Veterans is a tough book for me to review. I felt very disconnected from the author's words and I blame that almost entirely on the narration (this was an audio book on Kindle Unlimited). The narrator's voice was very flat and emotionless,......more

Goodreads review by Savi on February 12, 2019

I saw this on kindle unlimited and have to say I was very pleased I picked this up. This is a woman's real story of providing counselling and emotional support for soldiers in various army bases in America. I was surprised to learn that soldiers face a multitude of problems getting professional coun......more

Goodreads review by Bob on March 06, 2020

John Prine wrote a song about how we treat aging people called “Hello In There.” The point was, in our busy lives it is easier to pretend we don’t see the pain of others than to acknowledge and honor it. He might just as well have been talking about how the general population thinks about service mem......more

Goodreads review by Fred on August 16, 2017

Compelling well-written and touching tribute Gripping story of a counselor on contract to the military. She writes about her clients, masking their identities, and at the same time reveals her own personal experiences. Great for anyone dealing with PTSD or living with someone who is. Gives a clear pi......more

Quotes

“In this deeply moving book, Elizabeth Heaney gives voice to war veterans and their families who otherwise would keep painfully hidden what she recognizes as their ‘terrible knowledge.’ Listening to their stories is an essential first step toward healing the wounds of 15 years of war.” —David Wood, Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent and author of the forthcoming book What Have We Done: the Moral Injury of our Longest Wars“The Honor Was Mine is not a book about war; it’s a book about humanity—an enlightening, powerful treatise of one person’s struggle to help a generation of warriors and their families as they face the effects of a battle that doesn’t end when they come home. If you’ve ever worn the uniform, are family of those who have or will, or simply a human being who needs to understand the price of war and those who sacrifice so much to help, read this book. The Honor Was Mine will help you understand.” —Danny Johnson, author of The Last Road Home and a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient“Elizabeth Heaney writes with humility and sincere compassion about the men and women who are continuing to pay the price for America’s wars. She paints a moving portrait of the challenges they face and the triumphs, sometimes small but never minor, that come from doing hard emotional work. She writes from a place of genuine empathy, never condescension. This book is sure to become an essential building block in the bridge across the military-civilian divide.” —LCDR Jerri Bell, USN (Ret.)