NamRaq: Letters That Heal is a powerful story of two men who have been changed forever by war. Brought together by fate, the authors met in 2008 at a car show in Pismo Beach, California. Ronn Cossey, a Vietnam War veteran in his sixties, saw a younger version of himself in Zeb Lane, an Iraq War veteran in his twenties, and he immediately identified symptoms of post-traumatic stress in the young vet, a condition he had been battling for 40 years, since leaving Nam. Ronn offered Zeb some fatherly advice, and they became friends. They began exchanging letters and soon identified the positive, healing benefits from sharing their life stories. Along the way they began to recognize that their letters might help other vets who struggle with the nightmares and flashbacks of PTSD. "If we can help just one other vet," became their goal.
The two men candidly share their thoughts and experiences, which so often carry a similar theme of pride, brotherly love, an almost uncontrollable hate of the enemy and a hint of betrayal by their country for the loss of their youth and their brothers. It is clear that these two men carry deep conflicts within them, as they try to reconcile who they are with who they were. And as they try to help and heal each other, they will help and heal all of us who lived through these times and lost family and friends to these wars.
The two men candidly share their thoughts and experiences, which so often carry a similar theme of pride, brotherly love, an almost uncontrollable hate of the enemy and a hint of betrayal by their country for the loss of their youth and their brothers. It is clear that these two men carry deep conflicts within them, as they try to reconcile who they are with who they were. And as they try to help and heal each other, they will help and heal all of us who lived through these times and lost family and friends to these wars.
