MSI Press Blog

  PTSD doesn’t happen to one person. It happens to a system. A family. A friendship circle. A marriage. A neighborhood. A workplace. Trauma radiates outward, and the people closest to the blast absorb the shock in ways that rarely get named. We talk about veterans, survivors, first responders, victims of violence. We talk about symptoms, treatments, triggers. But we almost never talk about the people who live beside PTSD—the spouses who flinch at slammed doors, the children who learn to tiptoe around moods, the friends who don’t know whether to call or stay away, the siblings who feel helpless watching someone they love disappear behind a wall of vigilance or withdrawal. This is what happens to the rest of us. 1. We become interpreters of invisible storms People with PTSD often live with a nervous system that reacts before they can. Their loved ones learn to read micro‑expressions, tone shifts, and silences like meteorologists tracking pressure systems. Is today a high‑alert...

  Read the Literary Titan interview of Chris Richards ( Nothing So Broken ) here:  A  Deeply Personal Look Book description:  In the shadow of loss, a path to healing begins. Chris Richards grew up in a small New England mill town, where life was tough and loyalty ran deep. At just 19, his world was shaken when a close friend was left permanently disabled by a devastating accident. At the same time, Chris’s father began to show troubling symptoms linked to his service in the Vietnam War—unseen wounds that would slowly unravel the man he once knew. The weight of watching two people he loved unravel under the strain of trauma and physical decline left deep scars—ones Chris carried silently into adulthood. For years, he buried his grief and fear, never imagining that one day, facing his own crisis, he would turn to their stories for strength. This powerful and moving memoir explores the enduring impact of trauma, the quiet power of resilience, and how even the most...

  Between 1962 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed more than 19 million gallons of Agent Orange across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to strip away jungle cover and destroy crops. What was intended as a tactical advantage left behind a toxic inheritance. Health impacts on veterans and civilians : Exposure has been linked to cancers (non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, prostate cancer), diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and now, newly confirmed connections to rare blood cancers like myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Generational effects : In Vietnam, millions still live with disabilities and birth defects attributed to dioxin contamination. Families continue to face challenges decades after the war ended. Environmental damage : Dioxin hotspots remain across dozens of provinces, contaminating soil and water, perpetuating harm long after the spraying stopped. Advocacy and recognition : Veterans and their families have fought for decades to have these conditions recognized for care and benef...