The Long Road Home

One Step at a Time by G.B. Trudeau

This is an amazing graphic novel.

Story synopsis: Former football star and coach Lieutenant DB, a military reservist,  gets his left leg blown off by an RPG whilst on patrol in a Humvee outside Fallujah. As he drifts in an out of consciousness he is Medevac’d to a field hospital for resuscitation.  From the field hospital ward he makes the call home to tell his wife he has lost a leg, quipping that the good news is that he is down to his ideal weight. So begins his journey home, via Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where he is joined by his wife Boopsie, to Walter Reed Army Medical Center,  then to Fisher House and then home, where one gets the feeling that his journey is only just beginning. His stuggle to readjust to life as an ‘amp’ is counterpointed by excellent black humoured gags. He’s an ‘AK’ (above knee) so he gets the ‘cool’ hardware- a C-Leg that costs as much as a Lexus.

It has a sequel, that I haven't read ye called The War Within that is available online!

Graphic novels have the potential to tell a story really well. "The Long Road Home" is a valuable resource.

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Fortunate Son (1992)

by Lewis Puller (Wiki Bio)
From Amazon:  Son of the famous World War II Marine commander "Chesty" Puller, Lewis Puller proudly followed in his father's footsteps. It was his misfortune, though, to serve in Vietnam in a war that brought not honor but contempt, and exacted a brutal personal price: Puller lost both legs, one hand, and most of his buttocks and stomach. Years later he was functional enough to run for Congress, bitterly denouncing the war. He lost, became an alcoholic, and almost died again. Then he climbed out of that circle of Hell to write this searingly graphic autobiography, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. One last poignant postscript: three years after the enormous success of this book, the author killed himself.

I remember reading this book when it came out.  It is a memorable book that might be even more important today with so many similarly affected soldiers (and civilians).   An article published on July 4, 2010 in the NY Times "Spirit Intact, Soldier Reclaims His Life" tells a similar story, but focuses mostly on the positive.