Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Survive, and Get Back to the Fight

In a flash, Kimberly Dozier's life changed.

As an award-winning CBS News reporter, Dozier had devoted her career to being in the right place at the right time to capture the story. Suddenly, in the wrong place at the worst time, she became the story, as a deadly explosion tore through her team and the troops they were following, and a word spread worldwide.

That Memorial Day in 2006, a routine mission ended with Dozier in a pool of blood on a Baghdad street, a victim of a car bomb that killed her team, cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, as well as U.S. Army Captain James Alex Funkhouser and his translator. Critically injured, Dozier woke to find herself fighting first for survival, then for recovery, and finally to return to the field.

Breathing the Fire tracks one woman's relentless determination to get the story, to get it right, and to get well again after everything went wrong.

The paperback was produced at the request of hospital caregivers, who find the book helps trauma patients and the families supporting them. The author's profits go to wounded warrior charities.

Associated Press correspondent Kimberly Dozier has returned to the field, covering the war on violent extremism in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and beyond, after she was wounded in a car bombing while covering a story in Iraq in 2006. Her assignments have included the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the refugee exodus in Kosovo, the Northern Ireland peace process, and the Khobar barracks bombing in Dharan.

Four years after her injury, she made the bravest move of all in order to return overseas—leaving the broadcast news business to go back to print—staying true to her principles that you can't keep the combat-injured in a "wounded box."

Dozier now covers intelligence, counterterrorism, and special operations for the Associated Press. The author's profits from this book go to wounded warrior charities including Fisher House, TAPS, the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation..

From the race of the rescue to waking to find your body destroyed, to the guilt of surviving when your team was lost, this is the ordeal of countless combat veterans and civilians—told by a reporter who lived and almost died with them. It's the horror troops often hide from their families, and even themselves. If you, or your loved one is going through this, it's a step-by-step guide for some of the battles ahead.

"This story reminds us all that courage is often most evident after the battle, when the unwavering commitment of people to each other shows us what true heroes are."
—General Stanley McChrystal, ret.

"An inspiring voice for those who face the challenges of injury, recovery, and loss."
—George W. Casey, Jr.

"...a rare, personal view - with all the attention to detail a great reporter brings to bear."
—Dan Rather

"A master storyteller and one tough journalist. America is lucky to have her on the front lines of reporting."
—Tom Brokaw

Covering events for the Middle East as a foreign correspondent for CBS News, Kimberly Dozier earned a reputation for being on top of the news, from disputed territories of Israel to the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama bin Laden. She reported on the war in Iraq from 2003 until she was injured by a car bomb in 2006. She recently returned to Iraq as an Intelligence/Counterterrorism correspondent for the Associated Press. Previously she was London Bureau Chief for CBS Radio News, has received four Gracie Awards and a Peabody Award, including one for her body of work in Iraq, has done reporting for The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, and been featured on CBS Primetime and in Glamour magazine. kimberlydozier.com