Publisher's Synopsis
This book is for firefighters and their families. Whether the firefighter is just starting out on their career and wishes to gird themselves against the potentially traumatic events they will almost certainly live through, or an old salt trying to make sense of years of sucking it up, or a firefighter at any stage of their career trying to deal with post-traumatic mental injury of any kind, this book is here to help you.
This book is also for the families and loved ones. The traumatized mind tends to turn inward, much more so with the traumatized firefighter, raised on the attitude of "sucking it up." Loved ones often watch as their firefighter suffers in silence, or perhaps turns their symptoms outwards, seeming to be a whole different person than the one they once knew and loved. This book will help those loved ones to understand them, and perhaps even help them seek help.
This book is written by two experts in the field. The first is Patrick White, a firefighter Captain with over thirty years' experience, who has undergone treatment for job-related PTSD, Patrick's experience and insight are next-level, and connect with firefighters and loved ones alike.
Dr. Andrew Proulx is an MD with 15 years' experience in the ER and office settings, who also practiced psychotherapy alongside his medical practice. Andrew is a survivor of addiction to alcohol and opioids, a direct result of traumatic experiences not dissimilar to those of a firefighter. Since being in recovery in 2016, he went back to school to do his Ph.D. in Psychology, and now works in mental health and addiction. He has considerable experience in providing counseling for people who suffer the after-effects of various sources of trauma-this is known as trauma-informed care.
