Evil Hours

"Unflinching and compassionate . . . This is far more than a biography of a psychological condition or a memoir of one individual; it is also a cogent analysis of an ever-increasing phenomenon that has changed the landscape of our culture . . . The Evil Hours is a must-read." - Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones "A beautiful book, the nonfiction brother of Phil Klay's Redeployment. Read it." - Thomas E. Ricks, author of Fiasco In the tradition of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Noonday Demon , a moving, eye-opening exploration of PTSD Just as polio loomed over the 1950s, and AIDS stalked the 1980s and '90s, posttraumatic stress disorder haunts us in the early years of the twenty-first century. Over a decade into the United States' "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.§Now, David J. Morris - a war correspondent, former Marine, and PTSD sufferer himself - has written the essential account of this illness. Through interviews with individuals living with PTSD, forays into the scientific, literary, and cultural history of the illness, and memoir, Morris crafts 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.§