Victor R. Volkman

Honest, wonderful writing

Although I know people who were in the Vietnam war, watched the Ken Burns Series, and talked to my husband of 50 years many times about his experiences there, this book’s hard-hitting brutal truth taught me even more. For anyone who wants to know the absolute (shocking) truth about war!

Teachers, this book has a glossary and an index which are essential for research projects. There are also online resources for educators. Even the author bios are entertaining and informative.… (more)

I have decided that if you have experienced any trauma in your life that Victor Volkman’s book was made for your reading pleasure. I have experienced trauma when my real mom died when I was five. Volkman creates a pathway to deal with your feelings and how to get on with your life.
In the new book "Beyond Trauma, Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction, Second Edition" Volkman presents a series of conversations with a wide range of people from many different backgrounds and experiences. Each provides his or her perspective on Traumatic Incident Reduction, or TIR for short. The book explains the techniques used by professionals and patients to help people sort out, resolve and overcome the negative effects of painful suffering. Untold countless people have to deal with trauma in a wide variety of situations including Soldiers who experience war or injury, families dealing with death, chemical or substance abuse, parental neglect, child abuse.
© 2013 Jackie Paulson
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1373555.Beyond_Trauma
http://getreadingnow.org/2013/04/16/beyond-trauma-by-victor-volkman/… (more)

This is a collection of really personal, moving and thought provoking true stories, each unique, transforming story describing how that person grew mentally and/or spiritually and moved on from the way they thought and lived.

Some really important messages stood out in the stories for me that really made me think about myself and others I have met in my life and were especially found in the stories A Call From Africa by Jari Holland Buck and A Heart Betryaed by Christy Lowry. Some of the stories rely on faith to get through difficult times, others are more spiritual and some are what I would call 'the lightbulb moment' when you finally wake up and realise where you are going wrong.

One particular bonus that I love when reading books is that each story is short and you may find yourself finishing the book extremely quickly as you decide to read 'just one more'.

A really great 'pick me up' book where life's lessons are made clear in each story and may possibly give you the inspiration you need to change the situation you are in at the moment. An enoyable read that I would recommend you try.… (more)

Just as many Americans, I am a big supporter of our troops, and I am in constant shock and sadness when I read and see the news each day. I grew up a little later then Vietnam, but have always been fascinated about this time, our soldiers, and how many disturbing stories and problems our troops had to deal with. Especially when they came back home.
This book is filled with so many wonderful people, their personal stories, terrifying poems, horrific events and so many problems that still haunt them everyday. It is awful and unfortunate what they have gone through, and it makes it worse when there are still people out there who certainly don't give these men and women the respect they deserve so much.
They are living nightmares, it doesn't matter which war, which battle, which time period they served, they are all going through so much more then most of us could ever even begin to imagine.
I sat in absolute horror as I turned the pages and looked at some of the pictures inside, read about their losses, their lives that were ripped apart, and the agony they are still trying to cope with. One in particular, Marc Levy, really pulled and tugged at me, and not that I have been through anything near what he was, and is, but each day since I read this book, who's poems have been permanently branded inside my mind.
These heroes have tons of talent, and it definitely isn't hidden in their writings. Very creative, and exceptional work, and so much gut wrenching stories, this is a rare gem of a book.
I would never recommend this for anybody who can't stomach gore and horror. This is all very real, and colorful and could possibly make some very disturbed. I can usually handle quite a bit, and being a fan of war movies, I figured this would be an easy, simple book to read, and well it wasn't. You can't put it down, and you can't stop re reading certain stories and poems.
I hope for the sake of the author's, that writing provides some sort of therapy, and I hope the same for any vet who may want to read this book to become inspired or maybe see how many are out there who are going through the same pain.… (more)