Brothers and Sisters Like These – Creative Writing Workshops for Veterans

Brothers and Sisters Like These

On Saturday, October 21, military veterans of different eras gathered at Brevard College to read their stories, essays, and poetry. The venue is part of a project called “Brothers and Sisters Like These,” a series of writing workshops designed to help heal veterans with PTSD and mild TBI (traumatic brain injury).

Ten men and women from the Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts courageously opened their hearts to an attentive audience who left with a new understanding and respect for all who have served in combat zones. The event was sponsored by the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas.

Writing Helps the Healing Process

An estimated 250,000 Vietnam veterans are living with PTSD five decades after the end of the war. Research indicates that approximately 14% to 16% of the US service members deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq have been affected by PTSD or depression. Clearly, the unseen wounds of these veterans affect all aspects of their lives, and our communities.
The NC Veterans Writing Alliance developed a creative writing program where veterans unburden themselves in a safe, non-judgmental setting. The writing process helps heal what remains wounded as veterans reach within themselves to free their memories and their hearts.

In 2018, a group of veterans agreed to participate in a staged reading at the Asheville Community Theater titled “Brothers Like These.” The program’s success has morphed to include veterans of later conflicts and is now titled “Brothers and Sisters Like These.”

Demons Released

Reading to a respectful and somber audience in an intimate classroom at Brevard College, the ten men and women who spoke addressed the many “demons” of combat: illness from Agent Orange, thoughts of suicide, the loss of comrades, returning to “the world,” and the sights, sounds, and smells of war.

One Iraqi War veteran told his listeners he was reading publicly for the first time. Visibly shaken and struggling, he “soldiered” through his presentation reading a letter he had written to himself. “Through pain and the process of healing, you will grow the most. You may not win the lottery, but you will be a better man.”

A Vietnam War veteran wrote: “Thank you for allowing me to ‘release’ another demon.”

A Mutual Gift

These stories of war and its consequences are offered at a great emotional cost by men and women who trust an audience enough to stand before them and bare their souls. They draw us together and offer a lesson in history. We return their extraordinary gift of faith with one of our own: open hearts and the gift of listening.