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A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
by David J. Morris
Just as polio loomed over the 1950s, and AIDS stalked the 1980s and '90s, post-traumatic stress disorder haunts us in the early years of the twenty-first century. Over a decade into the United States' "global war on terror," PTSD afflicts as many as 30 percent of the conflict's veterans. But the disorder's reach extends far beyond the armed forces. In total, some twenty-seven million Americans are believed to be PTSD survivors. Yet to many of us, the disorder remains shrouded in mystery, secrecy, and shame.
Now, David J. Morris - a war correspondent, former Marine, and PTSD sufferer himself - has written the essential account of this illness. Through interviews with individuals living with PTSD, forays into the scientific, literary, and cultural history of the illness, and memoir, Morris crafts a moving work that will speak not only to those with the condition and to their loved ones, but also to all of us struggling to make sense of an anxious and uncertain time.
"Starred Review. Well-integrated autobiographical elements make this remarkable work highly instructive and readable." - Publishers Weekly
"An eye-opening investigation of war's casualties." - Kirkus
"Morris brings not just experience but insight to a topic of grave relevance...Drawing on wisdom from his own experience, conversations with other sufferers, and such literary sources as Homer and Hemingway, Morris assembles a compendium of signs, symptoms, and interventions that gives context to an illness that literally annihilates a person's sense of perspective. The takeaway is a durable resource for both those with PTSD and their loved ones." - Booklist
"David J. Morris invites us into his own heart of darkness in order to deliver an unflinching and compassionate study of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is far more than a biography of a psychological condition, or a memoir of one individual, it is also a cogent analysis of an ever increasing phenomenon that has changed the landscape of our culture. If one has any hope of coming to grips with what shapes America every day, The Evil Hours is a must-read." - Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky
This information about The Evil Hours was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
David J. Morris is a former Marine infantry officer and war correspondent. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Slate, Daily Beast and Best American Nonrequired Reading. In 2008, he was awarded a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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