Book Review-Five Stars
The Drifter (A Peter Ash Novel) by Nick Petrie
This novel address the problems of combat vets suffering long term neurological problems that rendered them unfit to return to society and wrecked any chance at rehabilitation. This revealing and timely book clearly demonstrated the insanity of modern warfare.
Informative and excellent!
EXCERPTS;
He said he didn’t want to spend his life sitting at a desk.” She shook her head. “James never had trouble with motivation in his life. There was something wrong with him. I wanted him to talk to the VA, but he wouldn’t do that, either. He definitely wouldn’t talk to a therapist. He wouldn’t do anything. He slept all the time. I’d get home after working a double shift to find James asleep on the couch, a sink full of dirty dishes, and the boys glued to the Xbox without their supper. It went on for almost a year.”
Fatigue, anger, depression. These were classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress. And a traumatic brain injury, too. Peter knew it. Dinah knew it. Jimmy probably knew it, too. But that didn’t mean she could help him, or that he could help himself.
Peter thought about how Jimmy had made a point of saying please and thank you. Thanks for the coffee, brother. Please pass the hand grenades. It was funny, and Jimmy knew it, but he was serious about it, too, schooling the younger guys. A real man treats others with respect, and demands respect in return. It was an odd habit in a war zone, but because of Jimmy’s natural authority, it was also contagious. They had the politest platoon in the war. Maybe Jimmy was the polite kind of suicide. The kind who cleaned his apartment and paid his rent first. Because he didn’t want to inconvenience anyone.
The Marines had put a lot of effort into teaching him how to kill. They didn’t fuck around, they came right out and said it. Your job is to kill the enemy using any means at your disposal. And Peter was good at it. He’d had a lot of practice. He wasn’t complaining. He’d signed up for it. He’d wanted to serve his country. He was a goddamned Marine. He’d have that forever.
Veterans have double the rate of unemployment and homelessness as similar non-veterans. Then there’s bomb-blast brain injuries and PTSD, a lot of it undiagnosed. And the suicide rates are through the roof. The VA isn’t helping much. So we’ve got to help ourselves.”
I can’t stand those fucking money guys. Some sociologist did a study, did you hear about this? There are four times as many psychopaths in finance as in the general population. About the same percentage as in prisons.
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