This, Too, Shall Pass (Paperback)

If you know someone or have a loved one who is struggling with PTSD, this book may bring solace. Most of it was compiled before battle fatigue had a name. The author would not have labeled it such, but in retrospect this book is the written result of the war that raged within the home of the returning war veteran upon the people he cared most about. Alcohol and drug abuse are rampant among these veterans who are struggling to deal with their nightmare existence as well as family and friends who struggle to understand. Not all alcohol and drug users have seen battle on foreign soil, but their battles are perhaps equally as destructive. Trying to understand ourselves and our loved ones is challenging. Knowing that others have been there and survived can help.

Now a mother and grandmother living in Apex, NC, Barbara Basham Bostic is an interesting combination of a woman who grew up in the country in the years immediately following WW2 who became the wife of a U.S. Army officer who served in the Korean Conflict and Vietnam. During those years, she lived abroad and domestically while rearing her three children. Having lost both parents by age 24 and becoming a widow at the age of 34, the single mother worked to support and bring up her children in Charlotte, far from any help she might have received from her sprawling extended family. Believing that her children had already been deprived of too much, she chose to remain in their community so they might continue in their schools with their friends. Right or wrong, it was the decision she made to the best of her ability to see down the road. Many years later, she would return to Central Virginia for another ten years to renew her relationships with her siblings and their families. Feeling the absence of her children and grandchildren, she returned to North Carolina where she continues to enjoy family holidays and gatherings. And also to write.