Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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The book begins with a warning about some of the things discussed in the book, you know yourself best. Read the warning and decide if it’s something you can handle or not.
Ghosts Within is the story of a war correspondent, Gary Leech, and how the things he saw affected him. PTSD is something that is still very commonly associated with just soldiers and while soldiers most certainly can be diagnosed with PTSD doing so ignores huge swaths of people that aren’t soldiers that are afflicted by PTSD. Gary does a fantastic drop of noting information about PTSD: statistics, background, history, etc. throughout the book. (I don’t know if it’s going to be included in the final copy but some of the books and people he sites throughout his story would be awesome to have at the end of a book in case someone is interested and wants to learn more about what he was talking about.)
Gary also does a great job of breaking down what he went through, noting that his case is not the only way for it to happen, and explains the whys and how’s of it: How does this affect you? Why do you react this way? How do these things connect? Etc.
He also does not shy away from how ugly it can get: he talks about suicidal ideation, self harm, self medication, anxiety, and depression. He does not ignore that it affected his family and how it affected his family.
There are anecdotes of the things he witnessed spread throughout the book, it is discussed in his therapy, the dreams that haunt him, and small blocks of information set throughout the book. This is not an easy book to read, but I think it’s an important book. PTSD is something more people need to understand, it’s an invisible illness and like all invisible illnesses awareness is key to make it better understood.

Thank you Fernwood Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my review.

This was a heartfelt, honest memoir of the author’s,Gary Leech, experience of PTSD following his career as a war correspondent. The book is as described, a journey through PTSD and the effects it has on Gary but also those around him. The content includes research and treatment strategies. This is not a light read but it is a helpful book to get a better understanding of PTSD and how it it is experienced.