Awakening of a Foot Soldier

I was in the recognition that I was here for many more reasons than I could possibly comprehend; the superficial, the psychological, the emotional, spiritual and the anything else ending with an “al” that could be squeezed into this being. I was here to seek, to sit, to eat, to make money, to live, and to die. In 1992, author John M. Healey enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to Somalia. Upon his return three years later, he was declared mentally unfit for service and was discharged. In 1998, Healey found a backdoor entrance into the Army and reenlisted for a second term. He was then sent to Bosnia, and upon his return he disappeared, never to return to that life-in uniform-again. Awakening of a Foot Soldier: A Journal of Liberation from the Suffering of War is a collection of journal entries that take place between August 2004 and February 2006. At the time of his first account, Healey is in Kuwait awaiting his entry into Iraq where he will work as a civilian contractor. Living in the darkness of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, he goes to Iraq in search of death and ultimately finds inner peace. Awakening of a Foot Soldier is an enlightening story that shares the vulnerability of a young man and his quest for peace and liberation from the darkness of war.