Thirty Days With My Father: Finding Peace From Wartime PTSD By Christal Presley
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“An incredible memoir . . . an important
part of the still unhealed wounds of war. Christal has given as much of
her heart to this story as her father gave to his country.”
—Nikki Giovanni, world-renowned poet, writer, activist, and educator
“Whether
you are a professional who treats veterans and their loved ones, or a
person at risk for military PTSD, or anyone who cares, you will be
profoundly moved by this eloquent memoir.”
—Frank Ochberg, MD, award-winning mental health expert who helped define the term “post-traumatic stress disorder”
“Thirty
Days with My Father is an important addition to the literature of
trauma psychology, shining a beacon of hope for transformation and
healing.”
—From the Foreword by Edward Tick, PhD, author, War and the Soul and founding co-director, Soldier’s Heart
“To
me, post-traumatic stress disorder was just a bunch of words. All I
knew was that it had something to do with my father’s brain, and he
seemed to be going crazy. And I knew it was bad because my mom told me
that if anyone found out how sick he was, they’d come and take him away
forever, and they’d take me away too, and she couldn’t live like that.
If he had to be that sick, I wanted him to have something everybody
could understand. So I picked brain cancer.”
—From Thirty Days with My Father
Atlanta,
GA – When Christal Presley’s father was eighteen, he was drafted to
Vietnam. Like many men of that era who returned home with post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), he was never the same. He spent much of her
childhood locked in his room, gravitating between the deepest depression
and unspeakable rage, unable to participate in holidays or birthdays.
At a very young age, Christal learned to walk on eggshells, doing
anything and everything not to provoke him, but this dance caused her to
become a profoundly disturbed little girl. She acted out at school,
engaged in self-mutilation, and couldn’t make friends. At the age of
eighteen, Christal left home and didn’t look back. She barely spoke to
her father for the next thirteen years.
To any outsider, Christal
appeared to be doing well: she earned a BA and a master’s, got married,
and traveled to India. But despite all these accomplishments, Christal
still hadn’t faced her biggest challenge—her relationship with her
father. In 2009, something changed. Christal decided it was time to
begin the healing process, and she extended an olive branch. She came up
with what she called “The Thirty Day Project,” a month’s worth of
conversations during which she would finally ask her father difficult
questions about Vietnam. Thirty Days with My Father: Finding Peace from
Wartime PTSD (HCI) is a gritty yet heartwarming story of those thirty
days of a daughter and father reconnecting in a way that will inspire us
all to seek the truth, even from life’s most difficult relationships.
This beautifully realized memoir shares how one woman and her father
discovered profound lessons about their own strength and will to
survive, shedding an inspiring light on generational PTSD.
Christal
Presley, PhD, is the founder of United Children of Veterans
(www.unitedchildrenofveterans.com), a website that provides resources on
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children of war veterans. She
obtained her PhD in education in 2009, and is an instructional mentor
teacher in Atlanta Public Schools. This is her first book.
Thirty Days with My Father: Finding Peace from Wartime PTSD
By Christal Presley
Publisher: HCI
Release Date: November 1, 2012
ISBN-10: 0757316468
ISBN-13: 978-0757316463
Foreword by:
Edward
Tick, PhD, is the author of the groundbreaking book, War and the Soul,
and the founder of Soldier’s Heart. A practicing psychotherapist
specializing in veterans with PTSD, Dr. Tick received his master’s in
psychology from Goddard College in Vermont and his doctorate in
communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
He is known for his pioneering work with PTSD, and he continues his
healing work with veterans and other trauma survivors with innovative
yet time-honored methods.
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Trish Stevens
Jillian M. Sachtleben
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Office: (281) 333-3507
[email protected]
www.ascotmediagroup.com
