I recommend this book be read by everyone. Mental health needs to be talked about more and also more needs to be done to help people get treatment. Jason’s book is a step in the right direction. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

I’ve known about Jason since before I had even decided to learn about American politics because Missouri was the first state I lived in the US, but I don’t recollect how I actually got introduced to him. So it’s been many years of watching his interviews, following his journey on social media, donating to Let America Vote, cheering him both during a prospective national campaign and the run for Kansas City mayor, and later wishing him all the best in his healing process from ptsd. I had also loved his previous book Outside the Wire, so there was no question that I was gonna read this one. I was very excited when I got the advance copy but waiting till I could buy the audiobook because I definitely wanted to hear it all in his own voice. And I’m glad I waited.

This is not an easy book to get through because the struggles both Jason and Diana go through are brutal but Jason keeps it honest and funny. I can never understand the kind of life he has lived or the kind of drive he has had to do something better for the world, but there are still tiny parts of his issues that resonated with me because I’ve had those days myself and it’s validating to know that I’m not alone in this. And which is why I think this is a very important book because there are too many people these days with mental health issues and while many know that it’s okay to seek help, it’s not easy to do it and there’s always something that’s stopping us, and listening to someone prolific like Jason share his process of healing from his trauma is very eye opening and helpful and I hope it’ll help not just veterans who are suffering from ptsd, but anyone who has issues. I also really appreciated getting Diana’s perspective because I didn’t know anything about secondary ptsd and I think it’s something that everyone should know more about, especially if you have family members who are struggling.

The book also raises rightful concerns about the conditions of service members after they return from combat and how nothing is done to make them get out of the intense survival mode and acclimate to civilian life. I’m deeply appreciative of Jason’s work with VCP and I hope his dream of working towards zero veteran homelessness comes true. And whether he runs for office again or not, I’m excited to follow all the work that he is doing with his nonprofit, podcast and as a party leader at 40. Hopefully he’ll also write more books because he is an inspiring progressive leader and his voice is much needed in an ever depressing world.

Jason and Diana Kander gave ALL of us a gift through this book (and their work in KC and beyond, but that's for another discussion). "Invisible Storm" shares an honest, raw glimpse into the effects of PTSD (and other untreated mental health issues) on individuals, families, careers, and communities; the pain, the fear, the mental AND physical impacts; the challenge of finally acknowledging a need for help and getting that help; the ups and downs of healing and learning to recognize what's 'normal' again; and finding happiness and joy again. Diana's perspective throughout the book added depth that I haven't seen in other books about journeys to recovery. Reading Invisible Storm felt like having an intimate conversation with friends. And Invisible Storm hit home for me: I'm not a veteran, I'm not an elected official, but I am in recovery from my own storm, and each day I make a choice to remain well. Thank you, Jason and Diana, for sharing this story. I'll be encouraging others to read!

Great read!
The personal story was intimate and interesting. The mental health aspect was informative and personal enough to share details that are relatable.

It feels strange to say that I enjoyed this devastating and raw exploration of the effects of PTSD on a family. Luckily for the reader, Jason and Diana balanced the heartbreaking truths about their journey with levity from candid behind-the-scenes stories from Jason's political career. Ever wondered what it's like to be told by a president YOU should run for president? Now you know! Jason's voice comes through so well you'll feel like you're sitting down with him as he recounts these experiences to you personally. Diana shares her perspective, bringing welcome insights and laughs. Beyond enjoying a well told story, I found myself inspired to look at my life with raw honesty – if Jason could walk away from a presidential race, I can say no to the things in my life that aren’t working for me and my family.

"Now I could fix whatever was wrong with me. This - this - would surely be enough, I told myself. If I could go back and make a real impact, maybe even get myself hurt, then maybe I'd finally feel like I'd really done something." Reeling from a combination of PTS and survivor's guilt, Jason Kander made yet another sacrifice, as he had many times before. But this time, it was for himself. He stepped back from the political limelight and sat down with a therapist. Even with the education and mandatory briefings we get in the military, it's still incredibly difficult to ask for help. Especially when you are dealing with the voices in your head, saying, "it was just your job" and "you don't have it nearly as bad as some other guys - you don't deserve to have issues." Kander shows us, through vividly and beautifully written words, how that is not true. Thrust into the national political scene following the release of a badass campaign ad, Kander seemed on the fast-track to political stardom. And as we learn in the military, Charlie Mike (continue mission), regardless of what it's costing you. Kander was fighting the good fight outside, while neglecting the fight within. Eventually, and thankfully, he accepted help. Kander speaks to many in the military, especially those who are dealing with their own PTS and/or survivor's guilt and feeling like they haven't done enough. He is proof that asking for help is a sign of strength and courage. He also shows us how we can in fact Charlie Mike here on the homefront, whether that's coaching Little League or helping provide resources and housing for our unhoused Battle Buddies.
I laughed, I cried, and I felt a call to action. Invisible Storm should be on every commander's reading list.

“The doctor sat back in his chair. ‘Barack Obama told you that you could run for President?’ He tapped his notebook a couple of times with his pen, then pursed his lips, ‘So how often would you say you hear voices?’”

So begins Jason Kander’s “Invisible Storm A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD”.

Jason Kander is a bit of an enigma. He attended and did well in both a prestigious college and law school but felt more at home training with his cohorts in the National Guard on his time off. He is a progressive Democrat and a combat veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan. These attributes, combined with his earnest “desire to serve” catapulted him into the Democratic party’s stratosphere. After his tour, he became a Missouri Congressman. He then became the Missouri’s Secretary of State and just narrowly lost a Senate race in 2016. He was the future of the Democratic party, so it was a bit surprising when, in 2018, he announced that he was running for the mayoral race in Kansas City. It was downright sobering when he announced, weeks before the election, that he was dropping out of the race to focus on healing from PTSD.

This memoir candidly details the havoc PTSD wrought on Kander and his family, even as it looked from the outside that everything was perfect. Kander’s wife, Diana, shares her perspective throughout the book too. It is eye opening. I appreciate Kander’s honesty as he describes the anger, shame, guilt, and comparison he dealt with. It also shines a light on how difficult it is for our veterans to get the mental health help they need. He sought and received help from the VA but it was a difficult process.

This book is riveting. I was so intrigued as I read about his ascension in both the military and then the political world. The stories Kander includes about his tour overseas or his campaign across America are well written and captivating. Most enjoyable, though, were the snippets of his time healing with his family and friends. It’s beautiful and I wish every PTSD sufferer can have that too.

Even if you’re not a combat veteran or into politics, you can glean so much from Kander’s story. We’ve all been through a collective trauma these past two plus years with the pandemic and it’s important to deal with that. Kander was able to get the help he needed and is doing well now. It’s incredibly hopeful to think that if he was able to get better, then we can too.

I loved Invisible Storm by Jason Kander. It’s a very vulnerable and honest memoir of PTSD and mental health. It also provides a revealing peek behind the scenes of his many political campaigns. I also enjoyed the passages from Diana Kander, as they provided an additional account of her mental health journey. A great read!

In Invisible Storm, Jason Kander speaks to the experiences of his own life as he comes to terms with his PTSD from serving in Afghanistan. But as is so often the case with the specific and personal, it can stand in for something universal. The vulnerability he shows (along with wife Diana in meaningful interludes) can help shine a light on a larger problem. While helping veterans is first and foremost the goal here, the memoir strikes a chord with any millennial who has sought to run away from their problems by burying themselves in work or distracting themselves with achievements. Kander avoids getting too clinical with diagnoses, managing to describe the issues at hand with pinpoint accuracy in his own unique, relatable voice. Reading Invisible Storm is like having a long chat with a friend who bares their soul not to help themselves but to help everyone around them.

Jason Kander’s Invisible Storm is a taut, engaging, well-written examination of the collision that can occur when life experience and suppressed guilt collide with ambition and extreme competence. Through its directness, honesty, and self-critical introspection it goes beyond the more common aggrandizing works of politicians seeking to elevate their position amongst the electorate. Importantly, it provides a guide for addressing the effects of PTSD on those—veterans or otherwise—who would benefit from listening to their inner selves and seeking help to deal with their past trauma. Perhaps wittingly, perhaps not, it also makes light of a healthcare system that drastically needs an overhaul—not everyone has Kander’s support system or wherewithal to facilitate effectively navigating the path to successful PTSD treatment.

Jason Kander has been on my radar since the early days of his 2016 run for Senate in Missouri because he was a veteran and a Democrat. In the subsequent years, moving to Kansas City, reading Outside the Wire, watching him drop out of the KC mayoral race and effectively disappear, and then rediscovering him through the reincarnation of his Majority 54 podcast, my respect for him has grown immensely. While I am thankful that Invisible Storm confirms my image of the Jason Kander I thought I knew, I realize that this is the story of a person who is a work in progress, and a person who not only listened to his therapist, but also appears to have absorbed deeply what he learned from his therapist.

As I grow older and more skeptical, I can only hope that this book is a next step on Kander’s return to a fulfilling and successful life and not the first step towards the slippery slope of relapse. I would greatly prefer to have his admission late in the book, that his life is not done and there will be changes, mean that in this age of American disfunction and moral and ethical stuntedness, he will return to political life and that his contributions to the betterment of society will be large and influential. At the same time, Invisible Storm makes me hope that he never subjects himself and his family to the punishment that would come with taking that path.

In Invisible Storm, Army veteran Jason Kander vividly describes his own personal battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many people think that they understand PTSD, but Kander highlights many of the signs and symptoms that are not normally highlighted in popular culture. As a mental health professional, this book could be both revelatory and excruciating to read as Kander describes his thought distortions, panic attacks, and paranoia after returning from Afghanistan. This book is a must-read for anyone who knows, loves, and works with veterans. Hopefully, Invisible Storm will inspire others to recognize their own traumatic stress responses and decrease the stigma around asking for help.

Thank you for the advanced readers copy!
When I approach NetGalley, I simply skim through my typical genres and, if something stands out to me, I will request it. I often don’t go in there intentionally looking for a specific ARC. I used this same approach when I requested Invisible Storm. The title grabbed my attention because I’m a military spouse (not something I often talk about on this platform), and I thought “wow, I’m super curious about his perspective/experiences.” To be honest, I had no idea who Jason Kander was/is. Staying up-to-date on politics has not always been something I’ve done, although I’ve gotten better over the past years thanks to my husband and @sharonsaysso.
I finished this memoir in three days. That’s pretty good for me right now while living with a toddler and being pregnant. I felt Jason was honest with his experiences, and transparent when it came to the “ monster” that is PTSD. My favorite sections were probably his interactions with his therapist (who sounds like an amazing guy). I also loved the snippets that his wife brought in. People often forget how impactful another person’s trauma can be on those close to them.
We have had four, possibly five if I’m miscounting, suicides in our brigade this past year alone. One specifically that was very shaking to me, and was a clear indicator of how we have continued to fail taking care of those who experience a high level of stress on a day-to-day basis.
Jason was very honest about how he played the comparison game with his trauma. Saying how since he didn’t do XYZ like so-and-so, he has no reason to feel the way that he’s feeling. Your feelings are valid. Your experiences are valid. It’s time we treat instead of comparing.
This is a longer review than I have typically been doing lately, but for some reason this memoir just hit me a little harder than others. Probably because I just spent the beginning of the week at a division change of command ceremony where I was sitting amongst 50+ soldiers, and the only thing I could think about was who here is experiencing this “monster” and no one knows about it.
4.5 rounded up to 5

A long overdue conversation for our veterans—and everyone else. This work shines a bright light on mental health issues and hopefully normalizes seeking—and accepting—help. I know this account of struggle and healing will help and encourage many who combat trauma and the effects of trauma—no matter its source.
A very personal and introspective journey that takes the reader from confusion, misunderstanding, and even naivety to confronting a very real and present problem that impacts more of us—and those we love—than we dare admit.

I read Jason Kander’s first book, Outside the Wire, and thought, “Those situations in Afghanistan were traumatic stress.” When I read Invisible Storm, I was not shocked to see Kander writing about his plethora of symptoms. Ironically, as he writes in this book, he wasn’t able to recognize what was happening. I am grateful he is sharing the mindset, the mental and physical symptoms, and the supports necessary for recovery from posttraumatic stress (to achieve posttraumatic growth).

Kander does a fantastic job of conveying the trauma mindset and the negative, intrusive thinking patterns. The ideas of not being “deserving” and the “should” statements combine to leave survivors feeling inadequate and searching for external validation, meaning, value, and self-worth. As an author, Jason Kander captured this with his narratives on political aspirations and his drive for success. “Emotions can’t hit a moving target.” Jason Kander was definitely on the move (in an upward political trajectory).

With incredible detail, Jason Kander described his mental and physical symptoms of PTSD. Just like so many other survivors, he did not associate current pain with past stress. The mind and body are not separate, which led to chronic back pain for him.

Kander was able to treat his PTSD symptoms with cognitive therapy at the VA. (He also added nutrition and exercise.) Something to really emphasize is Kander’s support network of family, friends, colleagues, etc. As he mentions in the book, traumatic events lead veterans to believe they are isolated. In discussing his fellow vets’ struggles, Kander proves isolation can be a death sentence for veterans. Changes to mental health access within the VA system, since Kander’s first attempts at seeking treatment, are encouraging.

I particularly appreciated the input of Jason’s wife, Diana Kander, throughout the book. This provides even more depth to the discussion on trauma. Survivors need not experience the traumatic stress first-hand. Secondary trauma is real and debilitating. The Kanders expressed the difficulty so many others face in acknowledging the sensations, feelings, and experiences are indeed PTSD. Both wrote about believing they had not earned such a diagnosis. Invisible Storm helps to rip the bandage off our expectations of how people develop PTSD, who it affects, and what it looks like.

I am a trauma therapist. I would recommend Invisible Storm to anyone and everyone. I believe it has special relevance and value for healthcare workers, veterans, emergency services personnel, and their spouses. It’s an excellent depiction of high-functioning trauma with very real, vivid articulation of the mental and physical responses to traumatic stress.

Jason Kander’s latest book is a refreshingly authentic memoir, a rarity in politics. As a young legislator, I really appreciate just how vulnerable his writing is. While it goes without saying that sharing his struggles with PTSD, and his feelings of guilt surrounding his military service, is a kind of bravery that all too often isn’t seen in public life, I also found his commentary about the experiences he had in the statehouse and while running for office more broadly to be incredibly honest. Most books about politics don’t share just how hard it is to balance taking care of yourself, including spending time with family, and maintaining friendships and a semblance of a normal life. It takes strength to share the hard things, and I hope that this book, and the way Jason’s strength is reflected in his writing, impacts others in the same way that it has impacted me.

"Invisible Storm" is riveting and bold. Harboring both an emotional and inspirational depth, unmatched by any other novel willing to peel the onion that is, PTSD. Jason more than captivates his audience from the opening, almost impossible to put down. His writing style combined with his overarching transparency and candid expression, left you wondering what the next page would hold. It is beyond evident of the love and support he and his wife Diana share, and her tenderness and care are woven so beautifully throughout each chapter. It is refreshing to witness someone like Jason utilize his platform to ignite awareness, compassion and hope to a subject not yet fully released of its stigma. Invisible Storm is a launching pad with the potential to blast open doors, once thought to be closed. Whether a veteran or civilian, Jason's message serves as a unification for us all to continue the fight on mental illness. War is messy business, and so is picking up the pieces of it. However, Jason's testimony serves as the foundation to anyone else struggling to discover hope.
It's out there. He is living proof.

It's interesting to read this book after following Jason's career for so long. I was one of the people he describes in this book, one who saw him as a natural and a rising star in the Democratic party. He details his difficulty in coping with his return from a tour in Afghanistan and how he tried to outrun his symptoms by throwing himself into politics. I've read a lot of Soldier memoirs and a lot of books about PTSD. Invisible Storm is unique in that Jason gets into the nitty gritty of his treatment, acknowledging the hard work involved in recovery from PTSD. Diana also offers insight into the challenges of being partnered with someone experiencing a trauma response. Finally, Jason offers hope that treatment can be effective and that posttraumatic growth is possible. As a military psychologist, I consider this a must read for veterans and clinicians.

I've been a fan for many years and gave his other book five stars too (bought his book with True for my great niece & nephew, but never got to read it). This lived up to expectations! It is amazing and inspirational.

However, it's a can't put down book, because I had to read it quickly as possible to get past the gut wrenching story. Feel horrible that they lived it for a decade!

Diana's parts are just as horrifying, sad, and powerful.

Jason gives a truly candidly personal view into the military Veteran's mental return from over seas service that few United States Citizens endure in this book. The thoughts from Jason' wife, Diana, reveals the affect on others when someone we love struggles with PTSD from direct trauma, the spector of trauma, and caring for those while suffering in silince from the burden of care. Ultimatly, you share with Jason and Diana a journey of faith and hope that affirms the human experience is a life long team event.

Several years ago, I became a big fan of Jason Kander, mostly as a result of hearing him interviewed and later by listening to his podcast Majority54. I was not his only fan: in President Obama’s last interview as President, Jason’s was the first name he gave when asked who gave him hope for the future of our country,

His story is incredible and inspirational…also tragic in some ways. In his first book, ​​Outside the Wire: Ten Lessons I’ve Learned In Everyday Courage, he recalled his career as an Army intelligence officer, including some harrowing tales from his time in Afghanistan.

He won a seat in the Missouri Legislature at age twenty-seven. In a famous campaign ad in 2016, when he was running for Senate, he rejected conventional political wisdom and stood up to the NRA campaign ad in which he argued for gun reform while assembling a rifle blindfolded.

Although many people encouraged him to run for national office, he ran for mayor of Kansas City instead. It seemed he was headed for a certain victory, but due to his ongoing battle with PTSD, he became depressed and suicidal and dropped out of the race. . But after eleven years battling PTSD from his service in Afghanistan, Jason was seized by depression and suicidal thoughts. He dropped out and sought much-needed help.

Invisible Storm is the book he needed when he was at his lowest, and I am sure many people will benefit from his brutally honest writing about his undiagnosed illness, his struggle with treatment, and his emergence from despair. It is tragic to read and be reminded of the effects the war continues to have on our veterans, but the way he has bravely healed from the years of struggle is heartening. Four stars.