Conquering the War Within - Lynda Manson

\nPTSD, rejection, abandonment, bullying, alcoholism, reconciliation, redemption, love, and enlightenment but above all, hope, are the themes in this memoir of Canadian Marcel Croteau. This ninety-five-year-old veteran of WWII was decorated by King George VI and survived an unprecedented thirty-nine missions during the war. Conversations with Lynda reveal Marcel's engaging, insightful, emotional, poignant, sometimes disturbing, and often humorous stories. His story of hope and survival is also of historical significance. He recounts in extraordinary detail life on the farm, the Great Depression, his education, enlisting and training in the RCAF, his war experiences, and his return to civilian life. He not only describes his antics, fearlessness, risky behavior, and significant events in his life but he has the ability to articulate the repercussions of a difficult childhood, the personal trauma of his war experience, his subsequent battle with PTSD, and finally his road to recovery.A fascinating story of an exceptional man as he journeys through childhood adversity, harrowing war experiences and half a lifetime's struggle with PTSD. Even more profoundly, he emerges with messages of acceptance and hope, revealing an intellect undimmed by what would have destroyed many others. His metaphorical dance with co-author Lynda Manson, revealed as their conversation unfolds, makes this book even more compelling. -- John Briere, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry & the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California