When her Navy SEAL husband returned from Iraq with only a broken leg,  she praised God that he was home safe and sound.  In the months that followed his homecoming, she began to sense that his leg was the least of our concerns.  

Although he was recovering physically, his soul still walked with a limp.  His unseen wounds, caused by war zone experiences, went unmentioned, unnoticed and untreated.    These invisible injuries slowly but surely infected her marriage, children and family life.  

“He was home with us in body, but, in his spirit a war still raged, said Marshéle Carter Waddell, co-author of a new and first-of-its-kind-book, When War Comes Home: Christ-centered Solutions for Wives of Combat Vets.  “His ability to be a loving husband and father suffered greatly.  From irritability and irrationality to nightmares and emotional numbing, it became very clear to me that my veteran husband was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  

One in five vets returning from combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from PTSD.  Less than 40% will seek help.  Their suicide rate is twice the national average and two out of three marriages fail, according to Waddell.

“For two years my husband denied any need for help and unintentionally led our family into a land of silent suffering,” Waddell said.  “Medical studies, military surveys and the media are now reporting that our family is not alone.   I am aware and grateful that the government and other organizations are putting forth their best efforts to help vets with PTSD; however, I want to do more to help the spouses and families who love and live with these vets day in and day out.”

Waddell will be a featured speaker at an upcoming conference for military leaders in San Diego.    When War Comes Home will be presented to more than 800 Marine leaders and family members at the Marine Corps Combat Operational Stress Control Conference to be held August 12-14 August at the Grand Hyatt.  

“The book, available in September from Military Press, and the presentation are based on our personal experience, careful research, and interviews with professionals,” Waddell said.  “I’m determined to give veterans’ families the tools and solutions they need to navigate through their personal storms.”  

“While physicians write prescriptions and psychologists try therapies, When War Comes Home speaks to the souls of the family members and friends of our nation’s heroes.  There is not another current faith-based  book available today for the military family warring against the effects of post-traumatic stress,” she said.  

Author of Hope for the Home Front: Winning the Emotional and Spiritual Battles of a Military Wife and the Hope for the Home Front Bible Study (New Hope Publishers 2006), Waddell is the founder of One Hope Ministry, a speaking and writing ministry aimed at strengthening women, marriages and families since 2003.  

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