In the Shadow of a Ghost

My vision for this book is one of HOPE. If this book helps just one person, or just a handful of people, Veterans, or law enforcement, then I’ve done my job as a father, and as a survivor. I just want people who’ve went through trauma to know, that you’re not alone.

This first in a series of 3 ebooks is a poignant description of just how overwhelming ones life can be when it is invaded daily by the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Book 1 describes the violence and trauma that often lead to the lasting effects of PTSD. In graphic detail the author recounts his life of addiction trying to self medicate away the effects of PTSD.

BIOGRAPHY James Dean Foley On a clear night in early January 1985 the patrons of Foley’s Halfway Inn Tavern gathered for a festive night of music and wild game to welcome in the New Year. This is the story of James Dean Foley, a father, a son, and a witness to violent crime. What most Americans associate with only combat veterans is a collection of feelings, and heightened senses that most could not, or would not, understand? More than anything though, this book is recognition that you don’t have to be a combat veteran to suffer the profound negative impacts of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Those impacts come with nightmares, cold sweats, being easily startled, chronic insomnia, chronic irritability, & unexplainable paranoia. And if that’s not enough, the bouts of uncontrollable sobbing that one must hide from friends and family. The author describes in great detail the car wreck that took the life of a class mate and witnessing his father shot to death at his place of business. He goes on to explain the self induced trauma that all too often goes unnoticed, or that, is so artfully hidden by the victims, sometimes knowingly, and other times oblivious to the affects of PTSD. All in all, this book has but one simple message; HOPE. Although many in leadership roles will tell you that “hope” is not a method, it is however, a start for those of us still suffering. With the courage to face his demons, James Dean Foley, articulates one of the most poignant and powerful accounts of trauma and addiction that anyone outside of combat vets you will ever find. The author describes how he’s dealt with a lifelong disability of intestinal hemorrhages that all too often incapacitated him, and that have nearly taken his life on at least 5 separate occasions since 1981. Together with the tremors, cluster headaches, hypertension, and a psyche that have been weakened by the relentless internal assault of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the author succumbs to his demons hoping that his story will help others.