About Thirty Days With My Father: Finding Peace from Wartime PTSD
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: HCI (November 1, 2012)
“An incredible memoir…an important part of the still unhealed wounds of war.” —Nikki Giovanni
When Christal Presley’s father was eighteen, he was drafted to Vietnam. Like many soldiers who returned home, he was never the same. Days on end were spent locked in his room, where he gravitated between deep depression and unspeakable rage. Christal learned to walk on eggshells, doing anything and everything to avoid setting him off. At the age of eighteen, Christal left home and didn’t look back. She barely spoke to her father for the next thirteen years.
To outsiders, she appeared to have it all together, but deep down she knew if she wanted to be at peace she had to face her father. In 2009, she conjured up an idea for the Thirty-Day Project, a month’s worth of conversations with her dad. Nothing would be off limits, including the most difficult questions about Vietnam. Thirty Days with My Father is the gritty yet heartwarming story of those thirty days, of a daughter and father reconnecting in a way that will inspire us all to seek the truth, even from our most painful relationships. In this beautifully realized memoir, a father and daughter discover profound lessons about their strengths, their flaws, and their will to survive, as they confront the past in order to transform the future.
“Whether you are a professional who treats veterans and their loved ones, or person at risk for military PTSD, or anyone who cares, you will be profoundly moved by this eloquent, true memoir.” –Dr. Frank Ochberg
“A beautifully written, necessary book…heart-rending and affirming all at once.” –Lee Smith
About Christal Presley
Christal Presley received her bachelor’s degree in English and her master’s degree in English Education from Virginia Tech. She received her Ph.D in Education from Capella University. She is a former intern at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, and spent seven years teaching middle and high school English in Chatham and Danville, Virginia.
Her first book, Thirty Days with My Father: Finding Peace from Wartime PTSD, will be published by Health Communications, Inc. in November 2012.
Christal grew up in Honaker, Virginia, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the founder of United Children of Veterans, a website that provides resources about PTSD in children of war veterans. In her spare time, you can find Christal playing with her dogs, tending to her chickens, and gardening.
Christal Presley’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Wednesday, November 7th: My Book Retreat
Thursday, November 8th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Wednesday, November 14th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Monday, November 26th: Speaking of Books
Tuesday, November 27th: Camilla Stein Review
Monday, December 3rd: Regular Rumination
Wednesday, December 5th: Perks of Being a Jap
Monday, December 17th: 50 Books Project