Ironically, as Americans celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, veterans are often triggered by the explosive sounds. It is just one such trigger that set off Cecilia Garcia’s PTSD after serving in the Iraq war. As she sought therapy to help her cope with her trauma, writing about it in a series of novellas based on her own experiences, Always Forward, became one of her most effective coping mechanisms.
“I joined the military in 1998, so pre-911,” Garcia says. “Originally joined, honestly, to get the college money, as a lot of kids back then. I was a truck driver and field handler.”
After 911, Garcia says, her service took a more dangerous turn. She served eight years in the U.S. Army with one deployment in Iraq. She received the Purple Heart from injuries sustained in action on May 25th, 2004. Her five-part novella series deals with the PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) that afflicts so many veterans following their service.
“For me, personally, a lot of [PTSD] is triggered by my external environment,” she says. “Since I was a truck driver over there, for the first three to five years coming home, driving on the highway or any road with big potholes—just seeing a pothole can trigger me to think that there’s a roadside bomb.”
Other triggers can be the sound of fireworks or a vehicle backfiring. Seeking a way to deal with her PTSD, Garcia began writing. While fictional, the Always Forward series tells the story of a woman who survived a roadside bomb while driving an Army vehicle but was then captured and held for years by the enemy. The small daughter she left behind when going overseas refuses to accept that her mother has died and travels to Iraq with the hope of finding her.
“The story follows all these different characters, storyline of being a prisoner of war while the daughter is out there trying to find her mom,” Garcia says. “Then you have the soldiers who were with her that have all that survivor’s guilt and all the struggles they go through with drug and alcohol addiction. It’s pretty intense!”
Visit author Cecilia A. Garcia's website for more information and upcoming events. Garcia will be attending the Third Coast Author & Book Festival in Grand Haven, Michigan, on Saturday, March 21.
