The term "nostalgia" used in the title refers to a medical diagnosis of homesickness, prevalent during the American Civil War.
Blue Nostalgia is a product of the MEA's Veterans' PTSD Project. The 81-page first issue presents the stories of seven veterans. For a free downloadable PDF version of the issue, click here.
"Surviving war and rape is hell, and [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] is very difficult; yet these authors have found a way to grow. Exposure therapy or writing about trauma helps foster strength in PTSD survivors. We create the environment in which growth can occur," writes Managing Editor Joseph R. Miller in his introduction. Later, he continues:
PTSD may not be the right diagnosis for every one of these authors; the common bonds between our authors are survival, loss, difficulty in life after the military, and the shared strength of accepting the way violence has shaped them. Tragedy and trauma in uniform takes many forms, and each author’s path toward growth is both an idiosyncratic representation of self and a story of survival.
Our authors have found growth through things as diverse as faith in Jesus Christ to the love of their children, among other routes. They all have taken ownership of their traumatic pasts through the process of writing and revision. The road has been hard, but by writing they have faced their memories. We hope that what you read will forever be a source of growth and strength.Art teacher, Gulf War veteran, and Maryland Army National Guard soldier Ron Whitehead designed the journal's cover.
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