Writing as a Courageous, Healing Act

I am not a therapist or a veteran. While doing research for a course I teach on the Vietnam War, I came across memoirs and novels by Vietnam veterans that are outstanding examples of therapeutic writing. These men had to tell their story, as much for them as for an audience.

In his book The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear, Ralph Keyes talks about writing as an act of courage. His discussion of how professional writers have constant anxiety while writing and how they overcome their fear (of being exposed, rejected or ignored) to put their words on paper (or in a computer) sounds in some ways like what I understand to be the feelings of soldiers before going into combat. Just as the combat veteran had to deal with anxiety and fear while serving, he or she may also confront those feelings when starting to write – about their experience, their feelings or their fears.

Overcoming those fears and expressing one’s self in writing is an important step in dealing with those emotions. The books of three authors, all of whom are Vietnam veterans, provide outstanding examples of how writing can be used to tell a story and deal with traumatic events.

Karl Marlantes grew up in rural Oregon and went to Yale. He went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. While there, he decided to enlist in the Marines. He served as a second lieutenant in the 4th Marines from October 1968 to October 1969. In the 1990s he was diagnosed with PTSD and started writing a novel. He eventually wrote 1,600 pages. Later, he re-wrote it and reduced it; 35 years after his service, he completed Matterhorn, which was published in 2010.The main character is Lt. Mellas, who has a similar background to the author’s: grew up in the Pacific Northwest, enlisted after attending an college. The Matterhorn is an ammo dump. In the course of the novel, Lt. Mellas’ platoon takes and retakes the area, achieving nothing. The novel deals with issues such as the ambivalence of killing, the randomness of survival, the military bureaucracy and the burden of command. This is a novel, so the author is not setting out facts. The thoughts of the main character may be similar to those of the author’s, but they are not set out as his thoughts.

Telling one’s story in the form of a novel allows the author to be less concerned about the facts as they actually happened and more about the feelings and emotions they wish to examine.

John Musgrave grew up in Independence, Mo., and volunteered for the Marines in 1966. He served in Vietnam with the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions from 1966 to 1967 and was medically discharged due to his combat injuries. His memoir, The Education of Corporal John Musgrave, was published in 2021. He tells his story of his enlistment, training and time in the field. He also tells of his life after discharge. How he came very close to suicide but was saved by the realization that his dog cared about him and how that led to him devoting his life to helping other veterans with similar problems.

Musgrave’s memoir is his story with the facts and feelings as he recalls them. Often the process of expressing those feelings on paper (or a computer) is a step toward dealing with them. He has also published volumes of poetry, another form of written expression that could allow persons to express their feelings.

Tim O’Brien grew up in Worthington, Minn. He served in the Army with the 23rd Infantry Division in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. O’Brien has written both a memoir If I Die In A Combat Zone Box Me Up and Ship Me Home and a novel examining his experience in Vietnam. The Things They Carried is a series of connected vignettes about A Company. One of the characters shares some of O’Brien’s background, but it’s not clear if O’Brien’s experiences in Vietnam were that of the fictional characters. O’Brien makes a distinction between happening-truth and story-truth.

Regardless of the type of truth that is in the story, these writings show how veterans can tell their story and in doing so, take an important step in coming to terms with their darkest fears. Tim O’Brien says that stories can save us. Telling that story in whatever way one is able to tell it is the first step toward healing.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Karl Menninger grew up around therapists because his family was part of The Menninger Clinic, a world-famous psychiatric facility that was in Topeka, Kan., from 1925 to 2003 and is now in Houston, Texas. Mr. Menninger is a lawyer who spent most of his professional career in state and federal government agencies dealing with persons with disabilities. He volunteers at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo.