Special Collections

Out of Uniform

After completing military service, veterans can have a difficult time finding employment when returning to civilian life.

Out of Uniform, Second Edition is designed to help all transitioning military personnel, regardless of service, branch, rank, rating, time in service, time in grade, or specialty. Although all service members share common denominators, each individual brings something unique to the job market. Not only does this book cover the basics—search techniques, networking, interview preparation, résumés, negotiation, and a new chapter on social media—it also offers guidance on topics that are often overlooked, specifically the central issues of self-knowledge, interviewing empathy, and the power of questions.

In addition to the technical guidance, readers will also discover important information in the anecdotes based on the experiences of soldiers, sailors, air force personnel, and marines. Out of Uniform, Second Edition is an invaluable resource for veterans who want to make the most out of their civilian career opportunities.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Operation Job Search

Operation Job Search is the ultimate guide for US military veterans seeking employment after discharge.

It provides information about the civilian workforce, rubrics for navigating one's career, and a list of essential resources to consult during the job search. Also included are sections dedicated specifically to suggestions and resources available to female veterans. Weiss explains that hiring managers and human resources directors hire veterans who make the effort to build a professional relationship.

He discusses the importance of leaving the house and meeting employers at venues such as job fairs, trade shows, office parks, and even Starbucks. Weiss offers practical instructions and crucial tips, such as: Establish an operations center (home office) for job hunting Don't be afraid to make cold calls Dress appropriately for job interviews and practice communicating in civilian-speak, not military jargon Target military-friendly companies that value the skills of returning military personnel If you are a US military veteran searching for a job, Operation Job Search will guide you every step of the way--from translating your skills into civilian-speak to negotiating your contract.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

War and the Soul

War and PTSD are on the public's mind as news stories regularly describe insurgency attacks in Iraq and paint grim portraits of the lives of returning soldiers afflicted with PTSD. These vets have recurrent nightmares and problems with intimacy, can't sustain jobs or relationships, and won't leave home, imagining "the enemy" is everywhere.

Dr. Edward Tick has spent decades developing healing techniques so effective that clinicians, clergy, spiritual leaders, and veterans' organizations all over the country are studying them. This book, presented here in an audio version, shows that healing depends on our understanding of PTSD not as a mere stress disorder, but as a disorder of identity itself. In the terror of war, the very soul can flee, sometimes for life. Tick's methods draw on compelling case studies and ancient warrior traditions worldwide to restore the soul so that the veteran can truly come home to community, family, and self.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors

Veterans of the United States armed forces may be eligible for a broad range of benefits and services provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If you’re looking for information on these benefits and services, look no further than the newest edition of Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors.

The VA operates the nation’s largest health-care system, with more than 1,700 care sites available across the country. These sites include hospitals, community clinics, readjustment counseling centers, and more. In this book, those who have honorably served in the active military, naval, or air service will learn about the services offered at these sites, basic eligibility for health care, and more.

Helpful topics described in depth throughout these pages for veterans, their dependents, and their survivors include:

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Reach for More

What should have been a normal life path of childhood, college, and military service took a major detour for David Szumowski in 1969 in Vietnam. After forty days leading his Army tank platoon, Szumowski's life changed. Whatever path in life he thought he would have, he now confronted a life without sight.

This is a memoir of one person's challenges with coping, emotional distress, finding a career, accepting the hand that was dealt, finding love and a life partner, and a successful legal career. This remarkable story of one man's resilience, perseverance, faith, and courage is inspiring. You will experience a range of emotions as you understand how one person lives with loss. Reach for More is truly an encouraging testament to faith and the human spirit!

I envisioned a steady path through life seeking success and happiness. The Vietnam War nearly derailed me from those goals. My faith, family, friendships opportunities and determination helped me to overcome obstacles and realize a satisfying life . This is my story of achievement by never giving up.

Date Added: 03/04/2020

Veterans Employment Tactics

Things have changed, times have changed, and times are tough - especially if you're a military veteran seeking employment in today's economy. This essential guide is designed to help you succeed in your civilian job search. Written by a career military officer and a career expert, TheHireTactics introduces a methodology that includes innovative tools that go far beyond the traditional resume and cover letter. You will learn how to define your value in civilian terms and employ the strategies and tactics necessary to differentiate yourself from the competition and successfully complete your job search mission.

Learn the 4 Milestones for Civilian Employment:

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Odysseus in America

In his acclaimed book Achilles in Vietnam, Dr. Jonathan Shay used the Iliad as a prism through which to examine how ancient and modern wars have battered the psychology of the men who fight. Now he turns his attention to the Odyssey, Homer's classic story of a soldier's homecoming, to illuminate the real problems faced by combat veterans reentering civilian society.

Drawing on his years of experience working with Vietnam veterans, Shay illustrates how the Odyssey can be read as a metaphor for the pitfalls that trap many veterans on the road back to civilian life. He also explains how veterans recover, and advocates changes to American military practice that will protect future servicemen and servicewomen while increasing their fighting power.

The Odyssey, Shay argues, offers explicit portrayals of behavior common among returning soldiers in our own culture -- danger-seeking, womanizing, explosive violence, drug abuse, visitation by the dead, obsession, vagrancy, and homelessness. Supporting his reading with examples from his fifteen-year practice treating Vietnam combat veterans, Shay shows how Odysseus's mistrustfulness, his lies, and his constant need to conceal his thoughts and emotions foreshadow the experiences of many of today's veterans. Throughout, Homer strengthens our understanding of what a combat veteran must overcome to return to and flourish in civilian life, just as the heartbreaking stories of the veterans Shay treats give us a new understanding of one of the world's greatest classics.

With a foreword by Vietnam veteran U.S. Senators John McCain and Max Cleland, representing bipartisan support for what Dr. Shay is trying to accomplish, Odysseus in America is an impassioned and cogent plea to renovate American military institutions -- and a brilliant rereading of Homer's epic.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Veterans Benefits For Dummies

Saving veterans and their families from months of phone calls and internet searches, Veterans Benefits For Dummies outlines the various programs that the VA and other government agencies have in place as well as the procedures for filing applications, claims,and appeals for these benefits which include:

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Work and Disability

Work is a central aspect of human life in every culture and every society. In certain societies work may be a means by which individuals define themselves and/or maintain their quality of life. However, as a whole, work is the essential means by which we all attain our basic needs such as food and water.

In our modern society, persons with disability face a society in which jobs and education are not as easily accessible or attainable. Disability often complicates the delicate interrelationships between people and work. It may affect work productivity, relationships with coworkers, and relationships at home.

This third edition covers the latest in legislative background and other contextual matters regarding employment of people with disabilities; vocational theories and research related to disability; counseling interventions, multicultural issues, vocational assessment, labor market information, and accommodation of people with disabilities in the workplace; job placement and job development; outreach through business consultation; and supported employment for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Date Added: 10/25/2018

Healing Suicidal Veterans

Veterans are suffering a "mental breakdown" epidemic, often linked to post traumatic stress from the terrors of combat, traumatic brain injury, and drug and alcohol abuse. The problems triggered by an excessive number of deployments, financial and family trouble, fragmented or nonexistent support systems, and increased domestic stress have caused a mass depression among vets.

Healing Suicidal Veterans takes readers firsthand into the "situation room" where crisis intervention and addiction therapist Victor Montgomery explores the psychological wounds of war and the ways they contribute to the tragedy of suicidal veterans. He presents the Montgomery Model for ending veterans' suffering and anguish and putting them on solid paths to healing. The book offers veterans strategies for realizing they are not failures if they seek aid, and it gives families and loved ones ways to understand, cope with, and help their veteran in need.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Remembering Trauma

Are horrific experiences indelibly fixed in a victim's memory? Or does the mind protect itself by banishing traumatic memories from consciousness? How victims remember trauma is the most controversial issue in psychology today, spilling out of consulting rooms and laboratories to capture headlines, rupture families, provoke legislative change, and influence criminal trials and civil suits. This book, by a clinician who is also a laboratory researcher, is the first comprehensive, balanced analysis of the clinical and scientific evidence bearing on this issue--and the first to provide definitive answers to the urgent questions at the heart of the controversy.

Synthesizing clinical case reports and the vast research literature on the effects of stress, suggestion, and trauma on memory, Richard McNally arrives at significant conclusions, first and foremost that traumatic experiences are indeed unforgettable. Though people sometimes do not think about disturbing experiences for long periods of time, traumatic events rarely slip from awareness for very long; furthermore, McNally reminds us, failure to think about traumas--such as early sexual abuse--must not be confused with amnesia or an inability to remember them. In fact, the evidence for repressed memories of trauma--or even for repression at all--is surprisingly weak.

A magisterial work of scholarship, panoramic in scope and nonpartisan throughout, this unfailingly lucid work will prove indispensable to anyone seeking to understand how people remember trauma.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Long-Term Care

Finding the right long-term care often means making difficult decisions during difficult times. Whether you're planning for the future or need to make a quick decision, Long-Term Care helps you understand nursing home costs, the alternatives to nursing facilities, and how to find the best care you can afford.

With Long-Term Care, you'll be able to:

The completely updated edition includes an expanded discussion of Medicaid coverage, special long-term care insurance, assisted living, and long-term care. Plus, you'll get up-to-date benefit numbers, laws and taxes, and revised information on veterans' benefits.

Date Added: 10/25/2018

I Can't Get Over It

The author, Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D., is clinical coordinator for the Vietnam Veterans' Outreach Center in Silver Springs, Maryland. She also conducts a private psychotherapy practice, specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder and child sexual abuse.

In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Matsakis explains that post-traumatic stress disorder affects not just soldiers, but also survivors of many other types of trauma including: crime, family violence, vehicular accidents, sexual abuse, rape and natural catastrophes.

"I Can't Get Over It" directly addresses survivors of trauma. It explains the nature of PTSD and describes the healing process. This book will help readers find out whether they have PTSD, cope with post-traumatic anger, grief, and survivor guilt, recognize related problems such as depression, substance abuse, compulsive behavior, and low self-esteem, identify "triggers" that set off flashbacks, anxiety attacks, and other symptoms, relieve wounding caused by others' blaming and insensitivity and gain a sense of empowerment and hope for the future.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The PTSD Breakthrough

We are facing a hidden and growing epidemic. More than a million veterans and everyday citizens have been affected with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of a traumatic event or personal experience. And until now, there has been little understanding of how the disorder truly takes hold and how to reverse its destruction. Finally, a breakthrough approach has been discovered.

Previously PTSD was treated as a psychiatric disorder only, but new scientific research shows that biological factors play just as an important of a role, specifically brain and soft-tissue damage underlying the root causes of the disorder. The PTSD Breakthrough is the first book to describe the true causes of PTSD and provide an effective program for overcoming the disorder. There is hope.

Through the research conducted by Dr. Lawlis and his colleagues, for the first time those who suffer from PTSD, as well as their families and loved ones, will discover that this disorder can be treated and healed, and that our veterans and all who suffer from PTSD can regain true peace in their lives.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Memory, War and Trauma

Many millions of people are affected by the trauma of war. Psychologists have a good understanding of how experiences of war impact on memory but the significance of external environmental influences is often disregarded. Memory, War and Trauma focuses on our understanding of the psychosocial impact of war in its broadest sense. Nigel C. Hunt argues that, in order to understand war trauma, it is critical to develop an understanding not only of the individual perspective but also of how societal and cultural factors impact on the outcome of an individual's experience.

This is a compelling book which helps demonstrate why some people suffer from post-traumatic stress when other people don't, and how narrative understanding is important to the healing process. Its multi-disciplinary perspective will enable a deeper understanding of both individual traumatic stress and the structures of memory.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Military Advantage

The Military Advantage, 2015 Edition is the most complete annual reference guide to military and veteran’s benefits. Written by Terry Howell, managing editor for benefits for Military.com, the guide is backed by the resources of Military.com and its parent company, Monster.com. The Military Advantage, 2015 Edition is the most reliable benefits guide for the over 30 million Americans who have answered the call to serve in the military. These valuable benefits amount to billions in scholarships, educational benefits, home loan guarantees, and military discounts.

These extraordinary benefits are frequently overlooked by those serving in uniform or retired from the service. The Military Advantage, 2015 Editioninsures that all service members and their families are aware of the availability of all of these substantial benefits. This easy-to-use reference guide is full of insider tips, little-known benefits, shortcuts, and detailed answers to frequently asked questions. While information about these military and veterans benefits is available through numerous, separate sources, this book collects all of those valuable resources into one easy to use reference guide and provides important analysis of these benefits.

The Military Advantage, 2015 Edition is the well-established essential guide to making the most of the military experience for active duty service members, veterans, military retirees, and family members.

The Military Advantage, 2015 Edition is published in partnership with Military.com, the nation's largest military membership organization. With over 10 million members Military.com is the most trusted name in the military community for information about benefits, career, education and financial services. Military.com is owned by Monster.com, the largest career and job website.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Trauma and Recovery

When Trauma and Recovery was first published in 1992, it was hailed as a groundbreaking work. In the intervening years, Herman's volume has changed the way we think about and treat traumatic events and trauma victims. In a new afterword, Herman chronicles the incredible response the book has elicited and explains how the issues surrounding the topic have shifted within the clinical community and the culture at large.

Trauma and Recovery brings a new level of understanding to a set of problems usually considered individually. Herman draws on her own cutting-edge research in domestic violence as well as on the vast literature of combat veterans and victims of political terror, to show the parallels between private terrors such as rape and public traumas such as terrorism.

The book puts individual experience in a broader political frame, arguing that psychological trauma can be understood only in a social context. Meticulously documented and frequently using the victims' own words as well as those from classic literary works and prison diaries, Trauma and Recovery is a powerful work that will continue to profoundly impact our thinking.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning

As a veteran war correspondent, Chris Hedges has survived ambushes in Central America, imprisonment in Sudan, and a beating by Saudi military police. He has seen children murdered for sport in Gaza and petty thugs elevated into war heroes in the Balkans. Hedges, who is also a former divinity student, has seen war at its worst and knows too well that to those who pass through it, war can be exhilarating and even addictive: “It gives us purpose, meaning, a reason for living.”

Drawing on his own experience and on the literature of combat from Homer to Michael Herr, Hedges shows how war seduces not just those on the front lines but entire societies—corrupting politics, destroying culture, and perverting basic human desires. Mixing hard-nosed realism with profound moral and philosophical insight, War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning is a work of terrible power and redemptive clarity whose truths have never been more necessary.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Making Self-Employment Work for People with Disabilities (Second Edition)

As self-employment becomes a viable option for more and more adults with significant disabilities, give them realistic, practical guidance and support with the NEW edition of this popular guidebook. Updated with a new and improved assessment approach, more self-employment success stories, and the latest on policy changes and online opportunities, this book is your step-by-step guide to helping adults with disabilities get a small business off to a strong start. You'll discover the nuts and bolts of person-centered business planning, and you'll get concrete, step-by-step strategies for every aspect, from business plans to marketing to finances. A must-have resource for employment specialists, transition professionals, and individuals with disabilities and their families, this book is the go-to guide for turning a small business into a big success.

SUPPORT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AS THEY:

Date Added: 10/19/2018

The Way of the Wound

Countless victims of childhood abuse, domestic violence, violent crime, rape, war, life-threatening illness and natural disaster struggle with the impact of their injuries. Former ways of making sense have been injured or destroyed. The lives of many are without meaning or direct. Unless helped to integrate the significance of their traumatic wounds into more comprehensive approaches to self, life and God victims run the risk of addiction, wasted potential, numerous psychological and physical problems, as well as commitments to distorted spiritualities. Victims of trauma are asked to embark on a path of healing that mystics, shamans and mythic heroes have been walking for thousands of years. The only difference is that the path is contemporary and, therefore, potentially more conscious. Trauma provides a modern access to this spiritual path and can initiate powerful experiences of conversion. If properly supported and accompanied trauma has the power to transform all facets of reality.

The Way of the Wound lays out a path of healing, along with the central issues that survivors encounter at every crucial point along the way. This work offers direction to every victim of trauma wanting to move to the next level of healing.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Wounds Within

As America’s longest wars end, hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Wounds Within follows the case of Marine Lance Corporal Jeff Lucey, who deployed early in the Iraq War, battled PTSD after returning home, and set his family on a decade-long campaign to reform the Veterans Affairs system and end the stigma around military-related mental health issues, with the perspective of Jeff’s psychotherapist, Mark Nickerson, an internationally recognized expert on trauma treatment.

Recounting one family’s story as well as case histories of Nickerson’s veteran clients, the book explains PTSD and the methods by which it can be treated. It also explores the challenges and frustrations facing returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan—from belated reforms to overwhelmed military families to civilians who don’t know what to say beyond “Thank you for your service.”

Date Added: 10/19/2018

The Job Developer's Handbook

One of the most practical employment books available, this forward-thinking guide walks employment specialists step by step through customized job development for people with disabilities, revealing the best ways to build a satisfying, meaningful job around a person's preferences, skills, and goals. Internationally known for their innovative, proactive job development strategies, the authors motivate readers to expand the way they think about employment opportunities and develop creative solutions.

Readers will get fresh, proven tips and ideas for every aspect of job development for youth and adults with significant support needs:

To make each part of job development easier, the book arms readers with practical content they can really use: easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidelines; checklists of critical questions to answer; success stories in both urban and rural settings; and sample scenarios, dialogues, and interview questions.

Equally useful to veteran professionals and those just starting out, this compelling guidebook breathes new life into the job development process and helps readers imagine a wider world of employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

After the War Zone

Two experts from the VA National Center for PTSD provide an essential resource for service members, their spouses, families, and communities, sharing what troops really experience during deployment and back home. Pinpointing the most common after-effects of war and offering strategies for troop reintegration to daily life, Drs. Friedman and Slone cover the myths and realities of homecoming; reconnecting with spouse and family; anger and adrenaline; guilt and moral dilemmas; and PTSD and other mental-health concerns. With a wealth of community and government resources, tips, and suggestions, After the War Zone is a practical guide to helping troops and their families prevent war zone stresses from having a lasting negative impact.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

Military-to-Civilian Career Transition Guide

This handbook provides a career transition framework for service members and their families. Readers are given exit strategies for gracefully leaving the military; charts, checklists, and worksheets for planning each transition aspect; resume and cover letter samples and strategies; and interviewing and salary negotiation tips.

Date Added: 10/19/2018

The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Relationship

War, physical and sexual abuse, and natural disasters. All crises have one thing in common: Victims often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their loved ones suffer right along with them. In this book, couples will learn how to have a healthy relationship, in spite of a stressful and debilitating disorder. They'll learn how to: —Deal with emotions regarding their partner's PTSD —Talk about the traumatic event(s) —Communicate about the effects of PTSD to their children —Handle sexual relations when a PTSD partner has suffered a traumatic sexual event —Help their partner cope with everyday life issues When someone has gone through a traumatic event in his or her life, he or she needs a partner more than ever. This is the complete guide to keeping the relationship strong and helping both partners recover in happy, healthy ways.

Date Added: 10/19/2018