Each book is carefully chosen. The selection includes veteran and first responder stories, experiential, and scientific evidence-based information that tells the truth about trauma, survival, service, and the stubborn human capacity to keep going.
Viktor E. Frankl
A psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor's account of finding meaning amid unimaginable suffering. Frankl's logotherapy — the belief that meaning is the primary human drive — has shaped resilience science and mental health practice for generations.
Steven M. Southwick, MD, Dennis S. Charney, MD & Jonathan M. DePierro, PhD
The fully revised and expanded third edition — updated to address collective trauma in a post-pandemic world, with new research on frontline healthcare responders during COVID-19 and the unique resilience demands they faced. Co-authored with Jonathan DePierro, whose work with first responders and healthcare workers deepened the science. Drawing on interviews with POWs, Special Forces soldiers, trauma survivors, and pandemic frontline workers to identify what resilience truly requires. Essential for clinicians, veterans, and anyone committed to understanding human endurance.
Steven M. Southwick, MD & Dennis S. Charney, MD
The landmark second edition — updated and expanded in the wake of 9/11 and its aftermath. Drawing on interviews with POWs, Special Forces soldiers, and trauma survivors, Southwick and Charney deepened their identification of ten key resilience factors to reflect a nation grappling with collective trauma. Practical, honest, and deeply human.
Steven M. Southwick, MD & Dennis S. Charney, MD
The groundbreaking first edition — the first scientifically evidence-based research on resilience ever published. Southwick and Charney drew on decades of rigorous study and clinical work with veterans, POWs, Special Forces soldiers, and trauma survivors to identify ten key resilience factors. Practical, honest, and deeply human. A foundational text that changed how science understands the human capacity to endure.
Bessel van der Kolk
A landmark work on how trauma reshapes the body and brain — and the range of approaches that can help people reclaim their lives. Essential reading for anyone touched by trauma.
Ron Farina
The story of Abdul Atah Wahedi — wounded twice serving alongside U.S. Special Forces, hunted by the Taliban, and forced to flee Afghanistan with his family. A testament to courage, loyalty, and the resilience woven into everyday survival.
Ron Farina
An INDIE Publisher's 2025 book award finalist for military nonfiction. Farina — inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame — chronicles the ultimate sacrifices made by service members and the families who carry that weight long after the war ends.
Milton A. Toratti
A practical and deeply respectful guide to capturing the stories of those who served — preserving their voices, their sacrifices, and their humanity for generations to come.
Lt. William Keegan Jr. with Bart Davis
A 20-year Port Authority Police Department veteran and Operations Commander at Ground Zero tells the story of nine brutal months of recovery — 1.8 million tons of debris, political pressure, grief, and the unbreakable resolve of the men who saw it through. The New York Times called it "a work whose tone of modest moral authority restores dignity to 'closure' itself."
Dr. Matthew Kelsey, Psy.D.
A Connecticut veteran and clinical psychologist addresses the invisible wounds of service with profound empathy, professional rigor, and practical insight — bridging clinical psychology and the unique realities of military culture. "The hardest battles often begin long after the deployment ends." As announced by the Connecticut Veterans Bulletin.
Resilience is not coming home unchanged. It is finding a way to build a meaningful life with the parts of war that came home with you.
— Dr. Matthew Kelsey, Psy.D., The Things War Leaves Behind
Listen to Dr. Kelsey
Daniel M. Eddinger
Faded Green is an accumulation of blank verse poetry that explains situations and circumstances under which a frontline combat soldier experiences war. Written in the aftermath of PTSD, these poems capture what a combat soldier and civilian thinks about what happened to them in a war zone — questions that cannot be answered, only written out. For the front-line combat soldier who has survived war, these poems may be healing.
Milton A. Toratti
The untold story of soldiers who served in secret — abandoned by the system that sent them, but never forgotten by those who knew them. Toratti brings the same meticulous care and deep respect for service that defines his work preserving veteran voices.
Organizations offering real community, peer support, and resources for those navigating grief and loss.
A practical SAMHSA guide on supporting people through grief and loss — covering what grief looks like, how to help someone who is grieving, and when to seek professional care. Download and keep it.
Download PDFA national nonprofit empowering widows to move from surviving to thriving — through community, education, and peer support. Offers local chapters, online groups, and resources for women navigating life after loss.
Visit websiteOfficial government resources available to veterans and their families.
The official VA website — your gateway to VA health care, benefits, mental health services, disability compensation, education, housing assistance, and more. Everything the VA offers is here.
