Recovering from the War: A Woman's Guide to Helping Your Vietnam Vet, Your Family, and Yourself

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a trendy diagnosis applied to survivors of everything from childhood sexual abuse to the Vietnam war. However, Mason, wife of a Vietnam helicopter pilot, plows through the battlefields of Vietnam, describing their horrors and clearly analyzing why this particular war left an inordinate number of veterans psychologically disabled. In demonstrating how family members can help victims of PTSD, Mason treats the family as a system in need of repair--she posits that a disturbed veteran's family develops unhealthy ways of compensating for his behavior that paradoxically enable him to remain dysfunctional--much like the codependent families that surround and protect alcoholics. Addressed to women who have relationships with Vietnam vets, the book will be beneficial to anyone who loves, works with or simply wants to understand someone damaged by the war. Author tour. (Feb.)