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The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Kindle Edition

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 317 ratings

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“An essential book” on PTSD, an all-too-common condition in both military veterans and civilians (The New York Times Book Review).
 
Post-traumatic stress disorder afflicts as many as 30 percent of those who have experienced twenty-first-century combat—but it is not confined to soldiers. Countless ordinary Americans also suffer from PTSD, following incidences of abuse, crime, natural disasters, accidents, or other trauma—yet in many cases their symptoms are still shrouded in mystery, secrecy, and shame.
 
This “compulsively readable” study takes an in-depth look at the subject (
Los Angeles Times). Written by a war correspondent and former Marine with firsthand experience of this disorder, and drawing on interviews with individuals living with PTSD, it forays into the scientific, literary, and cultural history of the illness. Using a rich blend of reporting and memoir, The Evil Hours is a moving work that will speak not only to those with the condition and to their loved ones, but also to all of us struggling to make sense of an anxious and uncertain time.
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An eye-opening investigation of war's casualties." ---Kirkus

From the Inside Flap

$27.00
Higher in Canada

Just as polio stalked the 1950s, and AIDS overshadowed the 1980s and 90s, post-traumatic stress disorder haunts us in the early years of the twenty-first century. Over a decade into America s global war on terror, PTSD afflicts as many as 30 percent of the conflict s veterans. But the disorder s reach extends far beyond the armed forces. In total, some twenty-seven million Americans are believed to be PTSD survivors. Yet to many of us, the disorder remains shrouded in mystery, secrecy, and shame.
Drawing on his own battles with post-traumatic stress, David J. Morris a war correspondent and former Marine has written a humane, unforgettable book that will sit beside
The Noonday Demon and The Emperor of All Maladies as the essential account of an illness. Through interviews with people living with PTSD; forays into the rich scientific, literary, and cultural history of the condition; and memoir, Morris crafts a moving work that will speak not only to those with PTSD and their loved ones, but to all of us struggling to make sense of an anxious and uncertain time.
"

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00HK3EXR6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books; 1st edition (January 20, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 20, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5149 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 354 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 317 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
317 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and well-written. They appreciate the author's clear explanations of PTSD and its causes. The pacing is described as powerful and intense, with a comprehensive history that satisfies the mind and heart. Readers are provided with current information about PTSD symptoms, disorders, and phobias.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

49 customers mention "Readability"46 positive3 negative

Customers find the book engaging and informative. They describe it as a valuable educational resource for health professionals and an insightful tribute to those affected by PTSD. The book is described as well-researched and well-written, providing an objective account of the topic. Readers mention it's a must-read for combat veterans and rape victims.

"...I think this is a must read for every active combat person, rape victim and anyone who has experienced sever distress in a situation beyond ones..." Read more

"...Folks this is a great book, Morris talks about the Civil Rights struggle, he mentions Dr. ML King, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, child soldiers fighting..." Read more

"This is a great book written from the perspective of someone who has experienced PTSD first hand...." Read more

"This is a very interesting book. It is a biography/educational book on PTSD...." Read more

43 customers mention "Informative"43 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and well-written. They describe it as an excellent introduction to the history, treatment, and societal underpinnings of PTSD. The book provides an interesting account of the history of PTSD through personal stories. It is an excellent overview of the current state of the topic, with plenty of references.

"...The subject of PTSD is an incredible wide ranging topic with plenty of rooms for diverse opinions and comments. OK—I’m done...." Read more

"...I can tell Morris is a very intelligent, educated man with a wealth of knowledge to share. He often refers to past literature books as a reference...." Read more

"...His bibliography and notes are a treasure trove of further reading, though sticking just to Evil Hours provides a reader with a thorough and..." Read more

"Mr. Morris provides journalistic eloquence, personal intimacy, an excellent history and an honest overview of the complex features, treatments and..." Read more

27 customers mention "Writing quality"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and informative. They appreciate the author's clear explanation of PTSD and its history. The writing style is easy to read, engaging, and open, not overly academic or simplistic. The book is annotated with references and provides an easy-to-understand explanation of why some feel what they do.

"Evil Hours by David J Morris is a well written, and well researched book...." Read more

"...think it makes readers feel a little less alone and provides an easy to understand explanation of why some feel what they feel after traumatic..." Read more

"...ability to relay the emotions one goes through with PTSD and is very honest and open about his story...." Read more

"The beginning chapters was an excellent introduction to the feel and source of PTSD...." Read more

16 customers mention "Pacing"16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's pacing engaging. They appreciate the author's ability to provide insight into trauma and its effect on people. The book provides a comprehensive history that satisfies the mind and heart, with a keen ability to relay the emotions one goes through with PTSD. Readers describe it as an intense journey, difficult to sit with at times, but ultimately eye-opening.

"...Trauma is survivable, ones resilience, and ones determination to try what feels right for you seems to be the best course, but determination to find..." Read more

"...Simply said, I think it makes readers feel a little less alone and provides an easy to understand explanation of why some feel what they feel after..." Read more

"...He has a keen ability to relay the emotions one goes through with PTSD and is very honest and open about his story...." Read more

"...Iraq or Afghanistan soldier suffering from PTSD, this was an eye opening read for me in understanding the changes in a family member...." Read more

10 customers mention "Ptsd treatment"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative about PTSD. They appreciate the current information on symptoms, disorders, and phobias. Readers mention it's the best treatment they've read for PTSD.

"...beginning chapters was an excellent introduction to the feel and source of PTSD...." Read more

"...voice is honest, pragmatic and will validate as well as educate readers with active symptoms...." Read more

"...The Evil Hours is the best treatment of PTS I have read...." Read more

"...one on what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is, the various symptoms that people can experience and the multitude of causes of PTSD...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2015
    The best book I have read on PSTD. David Morris, a journalist who ended up with symptoms that fall under the PSTD label did extensive research on the meaning and treatment of what now falls under the diagnosis of PSTD. This disorder appears to be different for everyone who has been through a traumatic event, or in case of war, a series of traumatic events.
    The VA is probably the biggest research group studying and treating patients with PSTD...and somehow it remains an enigma, with treatments working for some and not others....and the types of treatments available, that claim efficacy are numerous. I wish this book had been around when I was younger as it would have given me many paths to explore. I highly recommend this to anyone who is experiencing any of the many symptoms of this disorder, as it opens possible ways of treating the symptoms that might work better for a veteran that the current course someone might be undertaking.
    Having grown up with WWII vets who experienced combat, lost crew and those they had come to love and depend on, I can see why they all avoided treatment, as the flavor of the month at that time was lobotomy. They handled themselves for the most part quite differently than today's warriors...but then they fought the 'good' war, they were hardened by the depression, where often to eat meant quitting school and going to work at 15 or 16...and this made them more mature, maturity and age seems to have a profound effect on the level of symptoms. Also the home front was different, people here while free from bombardment, still were on rations, did without and sacrificed for those they loved, followed the war daily, fretted over military setbacks, and supported the families who got that infamous telegraph or ring of the doorbell. Civilians weren't disconnected from the fact that we were at war during that period. In our last wars, Korea (which was a conflict not a war), Vietnam, and Iraq and Afghanistan, the general population, I can tell you didn't even think of us as being at war...they didn't talk about it, they didn't want to know about it, and most were sure that it had ended years before...but mostly the average American didn't know anyone who went to war.
    I was glad that Morris looked hard at the cultural component, as I am sure that it has a lot to do with post war perceptions by a combatant. A soldier has but one duty and that is to die...so surviving is a bonus, even if it is fraught with nightmares, hyper-vigilance, and unplaced anger and guilt.
    I think of my father who didn't return when the war was over, like so many WWII vets who had to stay and keep the peace, supply civilians, do administrative tasks for months before returning home. It created a space for them to transition from combat to peace time. Today you are in a combat theater and a few days later you are back home in a world where the average person isn't even aware there is a war going on. It seems hard to fathom that rapid a transition working in anyone's favor.
    My son served in the Iraq-Afghanistan theater as a medical officer and noted that the percentage of soldiers with concussive brain damage was very high, probably higher than in any previous war. Many soldiers were not aware of their symptoms because their buddies covered for them, and they adjusted to a new normal, it always made me wonder if this neurological damage might exasperate PSTD symptoms. I have not heard of any studies on this.
    I was most interested in some of the alternative therapies, especially those that demand a focus intense enough to zone out and reconnect to the body.
    It is good to finally have a study of the history, the cultural, historic and current treatments, there pros and cons, and information of the controversy as to whether PSTD is a diagnosable mental disorder. I think this is a must read for every active combat person, rape victim and anyone who has experienced sever distress in a situation beyond ones control. There are probably as many ways to approach the symptoms of PSDT as one can imagine, and since there is no magic bullet...it is probably best to walk away from a treatment that isn't working and be open to trying one that may work, whether it is covered by the VA or not.
    Trauma is survivable, ones resilience, and ones determination to try what feels right for you seems to be the best course, but determination to find relief is not an easy one to muster. I choose disassociation, knowing that I wasn't strong enough to deal with 'it'. This of course has a price, but each of us knows our limitations, and when I found myself strong and in a safe place I opened that closet door and took 'it' out and examined it...If doing that made me physically ill and overwhelmed, I just stuck 'it' back in that closet for another day. I would have gone sheer looney bins if a practitioner made be debrief weekly, in a Prolonged Exposure protocol.
    My father and uncles made their way back to a new normal, though they rarely talked about it, my son is making his way back, though there is an anger residual...there has to be a way home and that way will never be easy. Kudos to Morris for making that clear.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2015
    Nearly fifty years ago I was an Army Medic (MOS_91_C) who served over two years in what is now called a 20 bed trauma intensive care unit located in Camp Zama Japan ... the US Army Central Command location. This trauma unit was always full ... there were rarely empty beds. The patients arriving were unstable wounded soldiers being evacuated out of Vietnam; all types of wounds which could be expected in combat except for burns were treated in our unit. The high esprit d'corps experienced by all of our staff ... top to bottom ... was of the type hinted at in the TV series MASH. At the end of my enlistment I consciously strived to place my part in creating what was being done to the Vietnamese people as far as possible from my mind and my hoped-for post war life. I did not expect gratitude; nor did I experience any American gratitude. My biggest lifetime error of bio-psychic-social existence was my presupposition that I had not been wounded i.e. traumatized by my US Army service. I spend nearly 5000 hours in a river of human trauma and I never saw that I had become one of them ... my service buddies. I still cry when I recall the death of Clyde Wenrick, a young warrior who had been shot in the gut and had lived with and been cared for by us for months ... on and off the verge of death. I was sucking his recently eaten breakfast of eggs and bacon out of his abdomen ... he was holding the hands of one of the women corpmen and looking at her face. He said: I love you Mommy; and he quietly died.

    It was only after having read "The Evil Hours" that I find that I can hold and tolerate the FACT that I too had been wounded and traumatized in my work to care for others. My life, my mind and my body had been altered without my permission. And I've lived with that without understanding and without compassion for myself. These realities contaminated my ability to be present in relationships and to comprehend what my body was saying to me in situations which required a full appreciation of what others are asking of me. The term "at ease" was a command the military used frequently in training and group actions. Well, I now find that I am "at ease" in my own skin and can be kinder and more considerate for those who have led similar lives and who might not quite grasp with any clarity what has happened to them ... and by that I mean whether or not their distress had any active service roots.
    23 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • shannon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great service
    Reviewed in Australia on July 20, 2020
    Great book. Arrived on time even with a pandemic going on
  • Carole Yeaman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should have this information. Stress builds, & Wham!
    Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2015
    In depth descriptions of all neurological factors involved in PTSD discovered up to now. As well as the bizarre concepts & treatments of the past. Excellent detailed follow-through of many different sorts of victims: post-war and women's rape and many other triggering events. He writes not merely of the theoretical, but most importantly intimate & lengthy profiles of most sufferers .
    Overwhelming, destroying stress can arise from almost anywhere in the spectrum of a life.
    Read this great book. Arm yourself with Moriss' encyclopedic knowledge. Brilliant
  • The Krav Ice cream kid
    5.0 out of 5 stars This was a brilliantly written and very well researched book by David J
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2015
    This was a brilliantly written and very well researched book by David J. Morris. The book gives a history of PTSD and also the author's experience with it. I doubt there is a single book or journal out there that has more knowledge on PTSD than this one. Brilliant
  • jim 24
    5.0 out of 5 stars I recommend it!!!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2015
    I recommend it!!!

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