Down Range: To Iraq and Back (Paperback)

by Bridget C. Cantrell (Author), Chuck Dean (Author) "AS BATTLES CEASE, WEAPONS GET STACKED, and peace treaties are drawn up, it is then that the wounds of the soul become obvious to each..." (more)
Key Phrases: Chuck Dean, Turning Your Heart Toward Home

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
There are some things people don’t get over easily — pain from the past is one of them. Trauma changes people: It changes values, priorities, worldviews, and most of all…it changes how we relate to others. Painful, life-threatening experiences take people beyond the normal day-to-day life, leaving them stuck behind defensive walls that keep them from re-entering the world they have always known as “home”. So how does it happen? How do we lose the loving closeness with those around us? And better yet, how do we re-gain what pain has robbed us of? “Down Range” is not only a book explaining war trauma — it is required reading for anyone seriously interested about how to make healthy transitions from war to peace. Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D. and Vietnam veteran, Chuck Dean have joined forces to present this vital information and resource manual for both returning troops and their loved ones. Here you will find answers, explanations, and insights as to why so many combat veterans suffer from flashbacks, depression, fits of rage, nightmares, anxiety, emotional numbing, and other troubling aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

About the Author
Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D. writes and travels extensively around the globe teaching and conducting workshops for our current military personnel and their families. She focuses on pre and post deployment issues, Combat Operational Stress (COS), and all transitional challenges that our Armed Forces are continually confronted with. Her workshops have been given in both the European and Pacific duty assignments, and her timely books are utilized throughout all branches of the service and veterans organizations. Dr. Cantrell is the President/CEO of Hearts Toward Home International, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to the recovery and reintegration of trauma survivors. Her home base is in the Pacific Northwest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hearts Toward Home International; 1 edition (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933150068
• ISBN-13: 978-1933150062
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,602 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #10 in	Books > History > Military > United States > Veterans
  #12 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
  #20 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Stress > Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, informative, timely book, November 2, 2006

By	Charlene Rubush "author and book lover" (Donalsonville, Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kudos to Chuck Dean and Bridget Cantrell- I am very grateful for finding this book. How I longed for such a book back in 1968, when a soldier I loved came back from Vietnam with PTSD.
I didn't know what I was dealing with then, only that our lives were not normal.Those of us whose lives were personally affected by Vietnam, during and after the war, suffered from a lack of information, as well as the general apathy of the American public. Many of us survived our experience on our own,yet carry deep scars. Many didn't survive at all.
It is heartening to know that our latest warriors and families will have this life-altering, mind-saving, packed with knowledge guide to help them along the rocky road of living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on a daily basis. This book should be read by the general public, so that they would gain insight into the challenges faced by those sent off to foreign lands, to fight their battles. Read it, share it, and pass it on. We'll all be better for it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all soldiers and families , July 30, 2006

By	Christy (Frederick, Maryland) - See all my reviews

I received this book for free from the mobilization station when I was leaving for my overseas duty and it is available to all soldiers all you have to do is ask. A must read for all soldiers returning from operations in the Middle East. You have so many things in your mind that you cannot explain or understand and this book helps put your feelings and thoughts into perspective. I highly recommend that all soldiers request and read this book and share with their families. Acclimating back into your life that you left is a hard thing to do and it can also be quite the challenge for those left at home that don't understand what we saw and did, so help them out and give them this book! All family support centers should be able to help you out and if you can't find it anywhere in the Army system, then buy it! It is worth the cost to help understand and to help your families welcome you home again.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thoughts of a combat veteran, August 22, 2005

By	William Harley "Retired Colonel" (North Bend, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book should be in the possession of every combat serviceman and his family. Dean and Cantrell build on Dean's two prior books about essentially the same topic: The damage warriors bring home, but that cannot be easily seen. Nonphysical wounds of a psychological nature are as real as shrapnel holes! Returning to the family after being in combat can be a difficult transition for many young men and nowdays for women. Families need to know what to expect, and so does the returning service member. It was recently estimated that as many as 36% of our returnees from Iraq and Afghanistan may be affected by serious cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If this is true, it's a calamity we cannot ignore.
Get the book and read it cover to cover. It takes on difficult challenges, and may help get us through the minefields of trauma in homecoming.The message is important to families as well as to the serving member. This first edition has some grammar problems that detract from the message at times. Subsequent editions can be expected to be more professionally edited.
A best seller? We shall see, but it is certainly something it will pay to get your hands on if you have a loved one in a combat zone.