What was great were the comments I got from soldiers and veterans when they said, “Jeez, that was me.” They identified, and so on and so forth.
My second book is Better off Dead: That's a comment they told me a lot when I was working with the operational stress program. It's their stories. I think there were about a dozen stories of individuals I dealt with who were willing to write it up...“Yes, I want people to know.” There are aspects about the family, about sexual assault, about Veterans Affairs and the dealings it has with the veterans. It's nice to be able to say, “Well, if you want to know, that guy will come and talk to you; it's not made-up stuff.”
The best thing was when somebody said, “Fred, you know, if I hadn't written in your book I'd probably be dead.” One person said that; so all the time writing it and trying to get it published was all well worth it as far as I was concerned.
There is a lot of information out there, but there's not much on the personal side of the injury. You can read papers and doctors' stuff. That's what that book is about, anyway.