Overview

"This is the story of Vietnam veteran Jim Schuler and of countless other veterans who never recovered from the trauma of war and the stress of returning to a country that doesn't care. Bestselling author (as ghostwriter) Catherine Whitney, buried her brother, Vietnam veteran Jim Schuler, one day before 9/11, on September 10, 2001. He was fifty-three years old, living in a flop-house. It had been sixteen years since he had seen any of his family, and he was in one of his drunken rages then. He was one of countless veterans who never recovered from the trauma of war and the stress of returning from war to live in a country that doesn't care. Whitney tells her brother's story, and the story of his brother veterans, at the same time.""Soldier's Once"" views the big picture through the personal story of Catherine's brother. The lost dreams of military veterans and our nation's relative indifference to their needs is often ignored, or only talked about in policy debates or bureaucratic reports. Catherine Whitney has put a very human face on the topic, portraying a personal drama that reflects a broader reality. It is both meditation and investigation. In searching for the truth about her brother's life, Catherine Whitney meets others like him; their stories become a part of his - a story that resonates with humanity and a clear relevance to present day policies and national concerns."

Full Product Details

9780306817885

Table of Contents

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews, 4/15/09 Whitney persuasively argues that her brother's fate is common among veterans of all ages...Whitney's goal--to redress a wrong she feels she participated in against her brother and other veterans--is admirable...A poignant memoir and consciousness-raiser. Publishers Weekly, 3/30/09 [Whitney] offers her take on many issues--such as PTSD, veterans' benefits and homelessness--affecting American veterans of wars from WWI to Iraq and Afghanistan. BookPage, May 2009 [Whitney] reflects on the costs of war for a new generation of soldiers sent to fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Soldiers Once is part memoir, part meditation and a thoughtful look at the impact of war. Military Heritage, 8/09 A poignant memoir. Roanoke Times, 5/24/09 A remarkably frank account...Should resonate with anyone who has served or had family who served... Soldiers Once is like reveille; it is intended to make us all roll out of our comfortable cots and attend to our duty. WNTI Radio Online [A] tragic and heart-breaking story. Army Times, Marine Corp Times, Navy Time, and Air Force Times, 6/29/09 A heartfelt history of the treatment of America's veterans...Poignant. ForeWord, July/Aug 2009 Whitney writes with a simple elegance that compares with Ron Kovic's iconic Born on the Fourth of July. ..She vividly shows how her brother was a victim, along with thousands of other vets who have died or who are living lives of slow death. Augusta Metro Spirit, 7/29/09 A stunning portrait of the life of a soldier...The author allows readers to empathize with the events of a singular person when considering the issues facing a multitude of people...A poignant personal story that speaks to greater issues facing today's administration as well as tomorrow's. Veterans Reporter (Southern Nevada Edition), September issue [A] strong, poignant read. Gallup Independent, NM. 11/2

Prolific ghostwriter Whitney takes her veteran brother's untimely death - alone at age 53 with just $62 in his bank account - as a starting point for this meditation on what it means to be a veteran in America.The nation's ambivalence toward its veterans, the author suggests, is reflected in the contrast between words and deeds, between the ubiquity of yellow support our troops magnets on one hand and the number of veterans without adequate institutional support on the other. Whitney feels ambivalent about her estrangement from her brother, who served three tours in Vietnam as a combat engineer while she attended antiwar rallies stateside. His resentment survived the decades, she writes. I was his Jane Fonda, the one who could never be forgiven. Their personal conflict turned ugly nearly a decade after the war ended, and Jim disappeared to suffer his demons in solitude. Whitney persuasively argues that her brother's fate is common among veterans of all ages. All but forgotten today, World War I veterans who had gathered in a tent city to shame the Hoover administration into raising their benefits were fired upon by troops ordered to the scene by Douglas MacArthur, who had convinced the president that the agitators were communists. Even the Greatest Generation vets, held up as models for the supposedly selfish Boomers of the Vietnam era, are not immune to the psychologically devastating effects of war. Whitney recounts numerous stories of retirees revisiting the horrors of long-ago battles with delayed posttraumatic stress disorder. More recently, veterans have had to fight an entrenched bureaucracy and partisan politicians to have their service-connected disabilities even recognized, let alone attended to. Though Whitney's goal - to redress a wrong she feels she participated in against her brother and other veterans - is admirable, she ultimately becomes just another voice of complaint against a notoriously unjust system. She scolds but doesn't offer a vision of how the system must change.A poignant memoir and consciousness-raiser, but not the clarion call that our veterans require. (Kirkus Reviews)

Kirkus Reviews, 4/15/09<br> Whitney persuasively argues that her brother's fate is common among veterans of all ages...Whitney's goal--to redress a wrong she feels she participated in against her brother and other veterans--is admirable...A poignant memoir and consciousness-raiser. <br><p> Publishers Weekly, 3/30/09<br> [Whitney] offers her take on many issues--such as PTSD, veterans' benefits and homelessness--affecting American veterans of wars from WWI to Iraq and Afghanistan. <p> BookPage, May 2009<br> [Whitney] reflects on the costs of war for a new generation of soldiers sent to fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Soldiers Once is part memoir, part meditation and a thoughtful look at the impact of war. <p> Military Heritage, 8/09<br> A poignant memoir. <p> Roanoke Times, 5/24/09<br> A remarkably frank account...Should resonate with anyone who has served or had family who served... Soldiers Once is like reveille; it is intended to make us all roll out of our comfortable cots and attend to our duty. <p>WNTI Radio Online<br> [A] tragic and heart-breaking story. <p> Army Times, Marine Corp Times, Navy Time, and Air Force Times, 6/29/09<br> A heartfelt history of the treatment of America's veterans...Poignant. <p> ForeWord, July/Aug 2009<br> Whitney writes with a simple elegance that compares with Ron Kovic's iconic Born on the Fourth of July. ..She vividly shows how her brother was a victim, along with thousands of other vets who have died or who are living lives of slow death. <p> Augusta Metro Spirit, 7/29/09<br> A stunning portrait of the life of a soldier...The author allows readers to empathize with the events of a singular person when considering the issues facing a multitude of people...A poignant personal story that speaks to greater issues facing today's administration as well as tomorrow's. <br> Veterans Reporter (Southern Nevada Edition), September issue [A] strong, poignant read. <br> Gallup Independent, NM. 11/2

Author Information

Catherine Whitney has co-authored book projects with Maryann Keller, Nancy Samalin, Geraldine Ferraro, Dr. Peter D'Adamo, Celinda Lake and Kellyanne Conway, Dr. Balasa Prasad, Lorraine Bracco, and recently, Lee lacocca on the bestseller, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? She is the author of The Calling and Women of Windsor. She lives in New York.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available