Daughter's Hero, A Tribute to a Veteran of Vietnam, A.

MWSA Review

The author shares the very personal story about her father's struggle with PTSD and its impact on him and his family. It is a painful story about her experience with the torment of someone struggling to come home.  She hopes to help others understand the effect it has on him and the entire family.   The daughter of her personal hero lays her heart on the line in her book, attempting to explain the often inexplicable.

Ms. Weber-Torres writes in a way that makes her own pain and disappointment very palpable. The story spirals along with her father’s fall, dragging the reader into the morass of his emotional destruction.  He loves but struggles to show it in its deepest and most meaningful way.  The alcohol is self-medication. The author reaches out to him repeatedly only to learn that he can’t do what he needs to do in order to redirect himself toward a positive outcome.

A Daughter’s Hero is a healing process for Julie K. Weber-Torres.  She continues to try to understand how and why the VA failed her father while attempting to educate others so they can save themselves from the same fate. Writing for her is both cathartic and a tribute to her father, her hero.

Reviewed by: Michael D. Mullins (2015)

Author's Summary

A Daughter's Hero is a tribute to a veteran of the Vietnam War, that veteran, the author’s father- her Hero.

Following his untimely death, she was inspired to research his Vietnam War experience to create an understanding about his life and struggles with PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and alcoholism. He completed two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army from 1968 - 1970 as a Light Equipment Engineer with the 557th Engineer Company. His two year involvement would forever change his life.

After a few years of researching, his daughter was able to put many pieces of his life together to create a genuine story that shares her father's selfless dedication to our country and about his struggle transitioning back into civilian life, while fighting the demons that assailed him upon returning home.

The war would take thirty-five years to end his life, but his daughter is not willing to forget his sacrifice. She is committed to raising awareness about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by sharing the challenges her father faced when he returned home from war. She provides intimate heartbreaking details about the devastating effects of war and the negative impact it had on her family.

The book was written with love and honor and shares the unconditional love and compassion between a daughter and her father. She never gave up trying to save her father from the inevitable. She tells this story in hopes to aid others dealing with similar issues and to create understanding about those suffering with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.