From Battlefield to Blank Page: A Writer's Journey

The written word has always been my refuge, a sanctuary where thoughts flow freely onto paper like water seeking its natural course. Yet life, with its relentless momentum, had other plans, pushing my passion for writing into the shadows as I navigated the demanding landscape of career building, family raising, and personal battles. In an unexpected twist of fate, it was these very challenges, particularly in the wake of my early retirement due to PTSD, that ultimately guided me back to the writer's desk, where I found not just solace, but purpose.

The journey began in the crucible of youth. At seventeen, with the ink barely dry on my high school diploma, I traded textbooks for combat boots, enlisting in the Marine Corps. The Vietnam jungle quickly transformed this eager recruit into a hardened warrior, its humid air thick with the weight of experiences that would echo through decades to come. After earning my sergeant's stripes and an honorable discharge, I found myself adrift in civilian life, moving through jobs like a ship seeking anchor in stormy seas.

Fortune smiled when I landed at a local bank, starting in car repossession and climbing to Branch Manager. Yet something was missing, a void that would finally be filled when I joined IBM as a collection administrator. This role blossomed into a three-decade odyssey through executive marketing, business development, and sales, where I thrived in the corporate world's sophisticated challenges. However, beneath the surface of success, an old enemy lurked: the constant news coverage of the Gulf Wars began triggering long-buried memories, forcing me to confront the PTSD I'd denied for years. This time, I chose a different path, seeking help and stepping away from IBM through early retirement.

In the quiet moments that followed, writing became more than therapy—it became a mission. My piece A Scarred Life: War, PTSD, and the Long Road Home," [Free] broke through the silence surrounding PTSD, catching the attention of Nobel Prize-winning journalist Eric Newhouse, who featured it on PsychologyToday.com. The work found homes in prestigious collections like "First-Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery" and "Journal of Military Experience II and III." Its spiritual successor, Not Alone [Free] emerged from the same wellspring, offering hope and solidarity to veterans navigating the healing journey of therapy.

My intellectual curiosity led me down another path, a fifteen-year exploration into the labyrinth of faith and doubt. This spiritual odyssey culminated in "The Shattered Mosaic,"* [2025] a work that dared to question everything from divine existence to the intersection of faith and skepticism. The realities of publishing meant writing remained a labor of love rather than livelihood.

The creative well continued to flow, producing works like "The Greatest Father - Satire" [Free] a satirical lens turned toward religion, and Stolen Girls: A Veterans Promise [Free] suspense narrative featuring a protagonist who shares my seasoned perspective. These stories, along with others that mirror different chapters of my life's journey, each piece a reflection of universal questions through a personal lens.

Other stories flowed: 

Twilight Dreams [Free]

JUMP-START Your First Week as a New Manager [Free]

A long overdue apology - PTDS [Free]

Today, Florida serves as home base, where I share life with my beloved wife, my partner since 1969. Together, we've nurtured three remarkable sons who married equally remarkable women, blessing us with nine grandchildren who remind us daily of life's continuing adventure.

* The story is a powerful, emotional journey that resonates with people who feel spiritually unmoored but not entirely hopeless. It validates the search itself, suggesting that the act of questioning and wrestling with ambiguity can be more sacred than finding a definitive answer.