Life Changing Events - by Basil B Clark (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A collection of interviews conducted by a former soldier who himself experienced life-changing events in Vietnam. Forty-five stories feature individuals who recount the aftermath of life changing events in their lives. They tell how these changes affected them, and what the results have been. Issues addressed are losses, abuse, inner and/or outer woundings, or other events, negative and positive. The honest and inspirational compilation looks at pathways people have traveled as they ask, "Since the eventful turning point, who am I now?"

A Paradox that comes through the stories is, where the individuals experienced negative life changing events, they were able to discover and embrace the positives that were direct consequences of the initial event. As Basil B. Clark wrote in his book War Wounded: Let the Healing Begin, "In our diversity of experiences we find just how much we have in common."

Review Quotes

Trauma's primary effect is to isolate us from ourselves, our loved ones, our communities and spiritual practices. Trauma insists on taking everything from survivors, and leaves the individual in a state of constant horror, re-experiencing a moment frozen in time over and over again until someone reaches out and helps establish a safe, secure connection beyond all the suffering. Basil Clark's latest work does just that. By telling the stories and allowing survivors to share their hurt and healing in their own words, Clark allows for those primal and necessary components of connection to regenerate--contact, comfort, safety, shared narrative and shared healing.

C.J. Robinson, Ph.D.

These are stories that deserve to be told, from the only people who could tell them. We all reach a Robert Frost moment - you know, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood." Sometimes we get to choose a road, sometimes we just limp down it with nothing but hope. This collection by Basil Clark shows not only a glimpse into those moments, but a beautiful mosaic of the many leaves picked up along the way. -

Buddy Forbes, Big Sandy Bureau Reporter at WYMT TV