Title: From Brokenness to Atonement, Faith, Hope, and Love: A Vietnam War Sniper’s Journey and a Psychiatrist’s Bibliotherapy
Author: Hani Raoul Khouzam, MD, MPH, FAPA
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 9798885403962
Pages: 210
Genre: Biography / Psychology
Synopsis
This is a story of Mr. L, an orphan who was raised and nurtured by a devoted Carmelite nun, then drafted to serve as a skilled sniper during the Vietnam War. A journey of learning and mastering of the French language, excelling in the Little League baseball, discovering the art of hunting, and of an uttermost devotion to assigned military missions. A tale of grief, depression, anxiety, intermixed with bitterness, rage, fear, and delayed onset posttraumatic stress disorder with its most devastating aftermath of survivor’s guilt.
Witnessing the emergence of innate talents, the gifts of left-handedness, and astounding suddenness of action in each and every providential and self-inflicted circumstances. Travelling through life in orphanages with boyish freedom, self-consciousness, and then an adulthood of giving of oneself and sacrificing of own needs to fulfill a patriotic mission, an acceptance of a higher calling to serve the poor and the disfranchised.
Biographies are woven in the tapestry of the therapeutic alliance of a patient-and-physician relationship. As a reader, you will be invited to introspect and reflect on the wonder of the human brain, the bubbling joy of loving, and the gift of living.
Will Mr. L descend into the abyss of ending his God-given gift of a well-deserved and joyful life or will he survive his heartbreaking sorrows and insurmountable guilt? Can brokenness be restored through faith, hope, love, and forgiveness?
The answers could be revealed by reading this personal journey–a portrait of faith, grace, and the joy that rises from giving and loving.
About the Author
For years I dreamed about writing a book of stories that describe the many triumphs of the human spirit over the burdens of adversity, brokenness, and suffering.
As an Egyptian and a Naturalized American Citizen I was showered with the cultural and scientific blessings of one of the oldest and the youngest human civilizations. Being a grandson, a son, a brother, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a friend and a colleague brought me countless stories of hope over despair, healing in the midst of pain, unconditional love and forgiveness in response to inflicted and perpetrated wounds.
The clinical experiences as a physician, a psychiatrist, and an academician provided me with awe-inspiring moments of listening to patients’ narratives and trainees’ challenges as they interlude with their daily journey of learning and healing.
The dream became a reality with this first storytelling book which attempts to portray the power that flows from accepting adversities as boundless opportunities to connect with the essence of humanity and faith in the divine.
For that I remain indefinitely humble and grateful.
