The Beauty of a Darker Soul: Overcoming Trauma Through the Power of Human Connection

During my Army career, I served as a Chaplain, and as circumstance would have it, I was operating in Baghdad with a recon unit from 10th MTN Div during much of 2006 at the same time Joshua and his Soldiers were in country. His account is both visceral and poignant in all of the right ways, and the story of the warfighter told from the voice of the warfighter is necessary now more than ever. Over the course of my career I spent more hours than I can count counseling Soldiers and their families, and much of it in a time before the words Moral Injury were a part of our therapy language. Deployments are costly and the talk of that cost is frequently in terms of the time away from home, our loved ones managing things back here without the loneliness, the dangers, and our presence, but there are aspects of war and combat that do not garner attention in our conversations nearly as much as they should. These are the visceral details that come from being in a place with the constant awareness that lives may be lost or taken around you at any given moment. We change, forever, and we become new people during our times away. When we return, we face the work of integrating experiences that are not pleasant at dinner tables, memories that can sometimes feel like they will never go away, and a different kind of loneliness borne from the feeling that we will not ever really fit in quite the same way as before. Though Joshua’s book spoke primarily from the vantage point of his own experiences, as I read I could not help my memories from returning to every new Soldier I welcomed into the units I have served with in combat. Many of them had not long ago taken off their prom tuxedo and were now carrying M4’s and a full combat load outside the wire and everyday tangibly engaged with both life and death, often times in the most violent ways. Joshua Mantz’s book is an incredible gift to the Veteran and Civilian community. He brings the very real fact of moral injury further into the public vernacular and the light of public attention. In doing this, he helps those of us who have decisively experienced the visceral nature of combat as well as those who love and support us, to have a better and brighter way of moving forward after the coldness of combat. The truths that Joshua raises in his book apply to the whole gamut of military and public safety professions. You need not be former military to glean incredible wisdom from his work, and I encourage you to take the time and read this book. Especially if you are a therapist seeking to understand the experiences of the warfighter, a loved one seeking to connect with and care for a warfighter or a former warfighter who is trying to find a place where they fit back here, then you should read this book.

I probably would never have known of Josh Mantz without my daughter telling me his amazing story, though only the first part of it. She was the one who told me about this book. My daughter is a blood donor recruiter at Fort Gordon, GA. For those who don’t know, the military has it’s own blood program. They collect blood from soldiers for soldiers. She travels with a team to draw blood and has been to several bases, including Parris Island, Fort Knox, KY and West Point. She was with the team at West Point in 2009 when Mantz spoke to the cadets there. I think they set a record for that center for the number of units collected. She told me of places on the Internet where I could watch then Captain Mantz interviewed. As a Clinical Psychologist with service in the Army, VA, and the Air Force, I have heard many stories of combat trauma and the struggle to recover. This one is unique because it is so revealing and from someone who at first blush appeared to have done so well. It is full of information about the persistence of symptoms and the work it takes to survive and thrive. For me the book came right after finishing a continuing education program titled Leveraging Adversity about post traumatic growth. I use the term “the gift that keeps on giving “. I don’t think anyone comes back from deployment to a war zone the same, even if they weren’t directly involved in combat. There is no safe place in Iraq or Afghanistan, just as there was no safe place in Vietnam. Rockets and mortars are a threat everywhere and it is not always clear who is an enemy. The man who works some job on base during the day may be directing mortar fire at you at night. For every man or woman who returns from deployment, there are “casualties “ at home - spouses, children, and families. The cancer of returning from a combat zone metastasizes. This is a valuable book for those trying to recover and clinicians trying to aid the recovery. It also tackles one of the most important barriers to seeking help - the stigma associated with mental illness. He also addresses the moral and spiritual elements of trauma. A brave book from a brave man.

Josh Mantz has done groundbreaking work on moral injury in "The Beauty of a Darker Soul: Overcoming Trauma Through the Power of Human Connection." He brings immense moral credibility to this work, sharing his personal story and hard-earned insights on this complex topic. Mantz is one of the leading voices in understanding moral injury and how we heal from soul wounds. I'm honored to write this review for his book and in support of his important work.- Doc Shauna Springer