Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him

This awesome book opened my eyes to a very real situation of a vet's experiences. I was married to a Vietnam vet many years ago, and I witnessed his nightmares etc. Getting help at the VA involved hours of waiting and only addressed physical, not mental issues. Recently, I have been increasingly concerned about the treatment our vets receive at the hands of the VA. However, those reports are impersonal and distant reports about distant people. Until Tuesday make one man's story intimate and personal, and each of us needs to know what coming back from this sort of war is really like. I hope that, like me, many more people will read it and ask, what can I do?Shortly after I read this book, my son, who served 3 tours in Kuwait and Afghanistan and was scheduled to go back, took his own life. It was so hard, especially since he seemed so happy, with a woman who loved him and a baby on the way. He planned to retire from the army in 4 years and move back to where he could be close to us. I found the insights I gained in Until Tuesday to be helpful and comforting.This is an important book for every citizen to read. It has become THE book I give or lend to everyone. I hope it will raise the questions of just what the personal cost is of sending our young people to war, and how we are willing to support them when they return. And for the younger audience, I recommend Tuesday Tucks Me In, a warm and beautiful book that introduces a special way service dogs can help humans.

This book brought into an acute focus the debilitating effects of PTSD. One can argue the root causes, whether it is guilt of ones involvement in a war they no longer believed in, or even never did, or the trauma of the effects of war on other human beings, or perhaps these and other reasons as well. But the fact is that many thousands have been exposed to horrors we likely will never understand. However, thanks to Until Tuesday, I can much better understand what PTSD is, and how it effects the human condition. This is one of many legacies Captain Montalvan will leave behind. I also much better understand how service animals are trained and the invaluable service they can provide. Captain Montalvan rebounded well enough from his PTSD to earn a Masters Degree in journalism from Columbia University, and he put his education to work with this book and numerous articles in major newspapers and websites. I certainly wish this book had a happy ending, but the reality is there is often no happy ending to the effects of war. It kills, it maims, and it cripples those who survive it. R.I.P. Captain Montalvan.

"Until Tuesday" was a great read! I bought it thinking it was all about a dog. It is a story of "Tuesday" but even better, its a story about one of our wounded vets & what it's like for them when they try to return to "normal" life. It talks about their physical wounds as well as their emotional & psychological wounds. It give a clearer picture as to what these men face when overnight they are thrust from a war zone to "normal" living & are expected to adapt overnight. They go thru & see such horrors in the war zone, & those horrors are imbedded in their mind & heart...they don't disappear just because these men set their feet on American soil again. A lot of these men are scared for life. One thing for sure, the man who comes back from war is not the same one who went to war, & probable never will be again. Tuesday was a great help to to Luis, & helped him learn to function in ways he never could before he met Tuesday. I think the government should provide one of these specially trained therapy dogs to each & every vet when he returns home from war. We owe them at least that much to show our gratitude.

This is an incredible book that is actually three stories rolled into one. Luis Montalvan is retired from the US Army as a captain, after serving two tours of duty in Iraq. He left the Army seriously broken, both physically and mentally most critically significantly suffering from debilitating PTSD.One story describes the vivid details of war and is somewhat difficult to read as it spares no effort to hide the ugliness of the violence. But this part of the book is necessary to fully understand the other two stories ans the severity if his conditions.The second story as I read it, describes the social indifference and outright hostility that is shown towards disabled vets. This neglect and indifference stretches from the VA system and extends to blatant discrimination in the public domain.Finally, there is Tuesday, a golden retriever trained as a service dog expressly trained to become the lifeline, the ray of hope for a wounded and broken soldier. I'm partial to golden retrievers and for me, it was so clear to understand how this incredible animal was able to be the rescue line for Captain Montalvan. The relationship they developed is so so real, I can relate to it but in a far different way.This is a true boy and his dog story that is a must read. It is as special as it is serious.

Luis really demonstrated the much effort he put forward to write this book. He not only showed that Tuesday's devotion to him made his life better and also helped others that have PTSD from their times at war. I don't envy anyone that has PTSD. I myself had two tours in Vietnam. There was no such thing as PTSD back then. I can only imagine that many veterans from Vietnam have PTSD and hopefully today they are receiving the support they need. In the book Luis constantly wrote about his time in Iraq which lead me to believe that he was having the most difficult time with his physical pain and mental pain as well.. The book was well worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone so they can feel the love between Luis and Tuesday.

Well what can I say about these fantastic and realistic book, written by a man who were in the action in the war in Afghanistan, high on the rang, he lead his men to be polite to the citicens, but also to be alert, the enemies is allways there.Luis carlos Montalvan, a soldier fought for his contry like so many others US soldiers, but what he thought to be, a freindly visit to the same village him and his men had visit so many times, litle did he know that this visit would turn badly out for him, and was to follow him till the present day.He was stapped in his back, in the tent, he had visited so many times, but he hadent noticed the man behind him, so home he went, with a traumatic experience, and therefore always had a knife on him, who could he trust, he had to fight for his life, Psycedelic, he was wounded, he could not go down stairs, not beeing around much people, walked the night, stayed in his apartment for months.he was one of many, and in a new repport from CRS, Congressional Research Service came today it stated that:in the two wars that USA have been in Afghanistan and Irak, the soldiers have paid the price: In all 6.640 soldiers have lost there lifes. More than 50.450 soldiers were wounded. about 1/4 Million soldiers have got traumatics damage either to there psykic, or head damage, that can be a lot of things, but Luis was one of these. 1.715 soldiers have had lost a leg or a arm or other bodyparts removed.Now life went on till the day he found out he neded a service dog, And here come Tuesday a Golden Retriever, that also had some bad experience with people, but after some long periods and training those two find each other, and they still live together, Tuesday is on Luis side and they sleep together, the are truth soulmates.Also Luis were fighting for his and all other US soldiers right to be heard, og there experiences in the wars, to get there human rights, and it pay of, after many many years.So Read this book, its a book that cut deep into ones live, I have read a lot of very very god books about service dogs and how they help people with illness, and sometimes illness we cannot se. And that is very bad, because if you can se: oh the person havent got a arm or leg or something you can se, then they are sick, but those people were you cannot se this things, then they are not sick, they are are like the others.So please read this fantastic, amazing, and tender book about Luis and Tuesday, and there fight to have a normal life, so normal as it can beJohn de la Bruyère VincentDenmark

Ok, I was attracted to this book firstly by the cover of the book. I doubt whether there is much more to say that hasn't already been said, but this book has been a real eye opener.We have probably all heard of the expression PTSD but perhaps never given it any more thought - but on reading this book of the daily struggle suffered by the author that has certainly changed. You don't have to "like reading war books" - this book isn't just about that, nor is it just about a dog, it is so much more and I would urge anyone to read it.My only regret - wish I could it more than the 5 *'s

Couldn't put this book down. The bond between the author and his service dog,Tuesday, is amazing. As a war veteren, Luis struggled with day to day life when he left the forces. His world was a dark place until Tuesday, a specially trained golden retriever came into his life as his service dog. The story tells of some of the most amazing ways in which Tuesday bonds with Luis and becomes not only his service dog, doing the jobs he's trained to do, but also becomes his best friend and soul mate. A very honest and open true story.

Not the usual lovely dog story, this is an honest account of a war veteran with bodily pain and PTSD, battling to survive daily life in New York. He is an intelligent, gifted man with messages for society but desperate just to get through each day. Until this smart dog Tuesday enters his life. A worthwhile read, especially if you like dogs! I smiled, frowned and shivered while imagining the beautifully described scenes and emotions on each page.

This is a totally inspiring and endearing story of an exceptionally brave man and his beautiful Golden Retriever service dog ,Tuesday.Having been badly damaged by war, Luis cut himself off from everyone, he thought his life was over, then thankfully he met Tuesday who showed him that life was worth living.Thank god for Lou,the service dog trainer who trained Tuesday and many like her, she has given so many disabled people their lives back.A book to treasure.