Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD Book Review

Jason Kander is many things: a politician, a veteran, a published author, and a family man. He was also living with PTSD after serving his country.

Kander’s new memoir, Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD, was published earlier this month. Back in 2017, Kander’s political future was bright. He was running for mayor in his hometown of Kansas City. All signs pointed to an easy victory. There were even whispers of him as a possible candidate in the 2020 Presidential election.

Then everything stopped. After being home from Afghanistan for more than a decade, he suddenly became depressed and suicidal. This deeply felt and dark memoir is the story of how the darkness nearly claimed him and the difficult task of recovery that he underwent to heal.

His story is personal, heartfelt, and a reminder that mental health is health. Just because the scars are not visible to the naked eye does not mean that the person is not suffering. What I was impressed by was how brutally honest Kander was about the experience. He also was very vocal about the fact that our veterans are not being given the medical care that is owed to them. They gave up almost everything for this country, the least we can do is ensure that they are as physically and mentally healthy as possible.

My favorite part of the book was the interjections by Kander’s wife, Diana. It shows that this disease does not only affect the person, it affects everyone they love. Mental illness requires a team effort to live with and/or overcome.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD is available wherever books are sold.

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The Buccaneers: A Novel Book Review

Marriage is a risk. Though you are saying “I do” to that person, you cannot know if this relationship will last decades or burn out before it really had a chance to begin.

The Buccaneers: A Novel, was co-written by Edith Wharton and Marion Mainwaring. Wharton passed away in 1938 while writing the novel, leaving it unfinished. Mainwaring picked up the baton decades later and finished the story.

In the 1870s, a group of five American heiresses have come of age and are ready to enter the marriage market. But because they are “new money”, they are looked down upon by the establishment. At the recommendation of their governess, the young ladies turn their eyes to England. The men they marry are titled but lack the funds to maintain their ancestral properties. While some live happily ever after, others question if they made the right choice.

I truly enjoyed this book. The first half has a fairy tale-esque quality to it. The second half reveals the reality of this world and the experience of marrying into another world that is so different from your own. It forces the characters to make decisions that they would not have made if they had married a local boy.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Buccaneers: A Novel is available wherever books are sold.