Tom Voss - Where War Ends: A Combat Veterans 2,700-Mile Journey to Heal — Recovering from PTSD and Moral Injury through Meditation

Contents

Praise for Where War Ends

At once thoughtful and uplifting, Tom Vosss story gives us insight into the challenges our returning soldiers face as they transition back into a society. Though immense, Toms challenges are not atypical among those seeking to heal the moral injuries of war. By recounting his healing journey, Tom paints a vivid and hopeful picture of what is possible for those burdened by the scars of war and provides a road map to that healing place.

Mike Haynie, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship, and executive director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), Syracuse University

A captivating personal journey that forces you to rethink the derivative impacts of military service. Tom Voss writes with compelling immediacy about the importance of community and a holistic approach to the reintegration of veterans into the fabric of our society.

Brian E. Kinsella, cofounder and chairman of Stop Soldier Suicide

The gripping tale of Tom Vosss fight, in and out of the warzone, and his incredible journey, across the country and around the world, will inspire countless others, leaving them with a sense of purpose and hope.

David Shulkin, MD, ninth secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs and author of It Shouldnt Be This Hard to Serve Your Country

For nearly the last twenty years, our country has been at war. In that time, there have been many books published by veterans detailing their experiences. In most cases, however, the discerning reader can sense an editing of the story by the author as it is retold. Not in this case. Tom Voss attacks the truth in his story with a furious intensity, and theres an inherent beauty that it creates. I simply couldnt stop reading it. Moral injury may be a hallmark injury of the global war on terror, and Tom is one of the most important spokesmen of our generation. His message of personal responsibility in the healing process is not only timely but timeless. Im confident this book will resonate with everyone in some unique way.

John Pinter, executive director of Team Red, White & Blue

Like traditional warrior societies, the United States has an effective system for creating warriors out of raw recruits. Unlike traditional warrior societies, it lacks an effective cultural system for welcoming warriors returning to civilian life and providing resources for the return journey of reflection, healing, and spiritual recovery from the psychological and spiritual wounds of war. Having discovered for themselves that drugs, alcohol, and conversations with medical professionals are inadequate substitutes for a true warrior reintegration tradition, Tom Voss and his fellow veteran Anthony create a process for themselves and other warriors in their walk across the country, a physical and spiritual journey of 2,700 miles that gives Tom the time and space to make peace with the ghosts of the dead and find a new path among the living. Well written, engaging, and thought provoking, Where War Ends is recommended for anyone who cares about veterans and would like to better understand their journey back from war.

Holly Arrow, professor of psychology at the Groups & War Lab, University of Oregon

Copyright 2019 by Tom Voss and Rebecca Anne Nguyen

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

The material in this book is intended for education. It is not meant to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified medical practitioner or therapist. No expressed or implied guarantee of the effects of the use of the recommendations can be given or liability taken.

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Voss, Tom (Thomas P.), author. | Nguyen, Rebecca Anne, date, author.

Title: Where war ends : a combat veterans 2,700-mile journey to heal : recovering from PTSD and moral injury through meditation / Tom Voss and Rebecca Anne Nguyen.

Description: Novato, California : New World Library, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: A veteran of the Iraq War describes his struggle to heal from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and come to terms with the horrors of combat-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019022222 (print) | LCCN 2019981387 (ebook) | ISBN 9781608685998 | ISBN 9781608686001 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Voss, Tom (Thomas P.) | Post-traumatic stress disorder--Patients--United States--Biography. | Veterans--United States--Biography. | Post-traumatic stress disorder--Treatment. | Veterans--Mental health--United States. | Meditation--Therapeutic use. | Disabled veterans--Rehabilitation--United States. | Iraq War, 2003-2011--Moral and ethical aspects.

Classification: LCC RC552.P67 V67 2019 (print) | LCC RC552.P67 (ebook) | DDC 616.85/210092 [B]--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019022222

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019981387

First printing, October 2019

ISBN 978-1-60868-599-8

Ebook ISBN 978-1-60868-600-1

Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10987654321

For Mack, Solo, and the Assassins of the 3-21 Infantry
T.V.

For Tom
R.A.N.

The wound is the place where the light enters you.

Rm

Most names in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of those who survived and the memory of those who did not.

CONTENTS

Moral injury is a wound to the soul. It happens when you participate in or witness things that transgress your deepest beliefs about right and wrong. It is extreme trauma that manifests as grief, sorrow, shame, guilt, or any combination of those things. It shows up as negative thoughts, self-hatred, hatred of others, feelings of regret, obsessive behaviors, destructive tendencies, suicidal ideation, and all-consuming isolation.