cover image Healing from the War: Trauma and Transformation After Vietnam

Healing from the War: Trauma and Transformation After Vietnam

Arthur Egendorf. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $15.95 (324pp) ISBN 978-0-395-37701-7

A Vietnam veteran, psychologist Egendorf conducted early ""rap"" sessions for returning vets. In this hope-filled book, he describes the stages of healing that have allowed many Vietnam vets to overcome the pains of war and resume normal lives. Writing with respect and affection for his fellow vets, and dismissing many stereotypes (there is no ""average'' vet, he insists), the author tells how diverse individuals have learned to talk openly about their war experiences as a way to understand and surmount them. Blending research, personal experiences and the observations of numerous writers, Egendorf offers a valuable manual for those who work with troubled vets, and an illuminating study of the still-open wounds of Vietnam. October 31