Thursday, Nov. 13, 7 pm,
United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula
Author of The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in an Era of Endless War, Yochi Dreazen will speak about his new book.
One of the most respected military journalists in the country, Dreazen is the managing editor of Foreign Policy, and a frequent guest on NPR programs such as The Diane Rehm Show.
Dreazen’s appearance is sponsored by Temple Sinai of Newport News through the Jewish Book Council network and will take place at the United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula, 410 City Center Blvd., as part of their annual book fair.
The Invisible Front tells the story of the Graham family, Mark, a two-star general, and his wife Carol. The Grahams lost two sons—one to suicide and one in combat— and devoted their lives to fighting the military’s suicide epidemic. Dreazen met the Grahams in 2009, when Mark Graham was commander of Fort Carson, where the couple committed themselves to reducing the stigma surrounding PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and mental illness and to making it easier for troubled soldiers to get the care they needed. Their efforts put them in direct conflict with an entrenched military bureaucracy that considered mental health problems to be a display of weakness and refused to acknowledge the severity of its suicide problem.
Dreazen understands PTSD well, since after two years covering the war in Iraq, often as an embedded frontline reporter, he faced his own struggle with anger, anxiety and depression. Fortunately, a friend in the military identified his symptoms as PTSD and Dreazen was able to get help.
Dreazen’s appearance is the first of four author events that Temple Sinai will hold over the next year through the Jewish Book Council network. The programs are also made possible by a grant from the UJCVP.
For more information, call Temple Sinai 757-596-8352 or the UJCVP at 757‑930‑1422.