Very good book. Easy to read, understand, and relate to. I bought it to try understand what my roommate is going through as a combat vet with PTSD and TBI and this was a big help in understanding his reality and also preparing me for potential triggers and explanations for behavior that might normally be seen as overreacting. I got him this book too and he found it very helpful in not only understanding himself better, but it also gave him techniques to deal with some of the issues he wants to work on. There's a lot of great information in here and I found it interesting enough to read it in a weekend. I wish I had read this years ago when I dated combat vets and active military that had multiple deployments in combat zones - it would have spared all of us a lot of fights, frustration, and heartache. I also wish this book had been in existence years ago when my Grandfather was alive (WWII vet with severe PTSD); his life would have been so much different had the family known the reasons behind his behavior and how to react when he was triggered. Hope he'd be proud of me now.

We are beyond reading this at our house. We usually have 2 or 3 copies at home and frequently give them to Soldiers around us we know could benefit from this one.

Writing is well done and presented in a way that makes it easy to follow...or easy to skip around to the content you need.

Very happy with this book.

Thanks, Dr. Hogue!

Being a psychiatrist who writes frequently about PTSD myself, I was looking for a good book about PTSD to suggest for adults. This is the best overview I've found so far written for laypersons. The writing is clear without lots of scientific language. Dr Hoge covers the challenges of seeking help and what to expect from good treatment. Unfortunately there are a lot of incompetent therapists out there who don't handle PTSD well and I would have liked to see the author advise vets on how to spot those and what to do about them. Otherwise there was much good self-help advice.

This book is a must read for anyone who went to war or loves someone who went to war. Helped me understand my combat veteran husband on a deeper level. Helped him understand things he was experiencing and realize that he wasn't alone. This book helped us both a lot. We each have our own copy. I also highly recommend The Things They Carried.

As a former military spouse and now close friend to a military contractor with one tour in Iraq and now on his second tour to Afghanistan, all of them as a law enforcement advisor. I feel it is a most read for military spouses and civilian employees involved in those countries conflicts alike. It has helped me to understand better the where and why of his "strange" at times behavior, his nightmares, and my dodging of punches in occasions. This book has made me realize many of the things that are going on in his mind when he comes home are not the result of not loving me but the result of his assume guilt, and other things that happen not only to soldiers but also to the civilians directly involved with the training of the foreign troops in the hostile environment of those countries.

This book is incredible for anyone who is caregiving for, or even who has, or knows anybody with PTSD. I love every bit of knowledge I'm getting out of this, and recommend it to anyone looking for tips. I've recommended it to my therapist (who works at the VA with Veterans who have PTSD, and caregivers of those with PTSD). She's in turn recommended it to her patients. This is the most important book anyone who wants more information on PTSD will EVER read. It hurts to read sometimes, because it feels like I'm reading something about my own life, or about my husband's life. I never feel like anyone will understand him, or us, and this book gives me so much hope. BUY this if you want ANY more info on PTSD. It will be your PTSD Bible.

A great resource for every combat veteran, regardless of how long you've been back. I really appreciated the discussion of the permanent physiological changes to the brain and how the learned survival skills are a normal response for those in long sustained combat operations, as well as what we need to do to be more aware of the physiological factors that influence our responses. The author provides effective methods of how to manage it by dialing it up or down according to the situation and better cope with the very different world we came "home" to. We can't undo what's been done, but this book provides a better understanding of how to live a better life by managing it more effectively. This book is more clinical in nature than other books I have read, which really helps explain what's really going on and what helps and what methods of coping we gravitated to actually worsens the condition. A must read for love ones so they aren't left in the dark and what they can do to help rather than worsen the situation. Too bad this book wasn't available when we returned. Probably wouldn't have prevented an inevitable train wreck divorce, but it absolutely would have helped me immensely in better dealing with it and in my understanding of the heightened feelings of betrayal, as well as reduce the short term impact of it on my kids. I believe it would also have helped me in not feeling like a ghost walking in the land of the living for far too long. For those looking to go down the path of healing, to learn to live again, to be happy, to trust, to love again, this book is a invaluable resource. Good luck and God Bless those who served their country!

This book has a lot of different information covering a lot of complex areas that we as combat veterans can use to better our lives when we have returned from a deployment. It also helps those who are closest to us to better relate to, and help work with us without having to walk on eggshells. There is also a part in this book that will help the veteran to deal with returning to their family which I think is totally awesome . I strongly recommend this book two any and all combat veterans, spouses, loved ones, Etc to help them get past the difficulty of a combat veteran returning home. Awesome book filled with lots of information.