LINDA REINBERG

Some people, for whatever reason, come into this world and give more than they take. Linda Reinberg is one of them.

After Charlie Graney had welcomed me to the event at the Ships Lantern bar, I was introduced not long afterwards to Dr. Linda Reinberg. Linda was a therapist who specialized in helping Vietnam Vets with Post Traumatic Stress. She became my therapist (and it was no small deal for me to accept the fact that yes, I needed this kind of help) and thus began the real healing in my life.

Somewhere along the way in our one and a half years of sessions, as I began to remember the language vets used in Nam, I started to take notes for what would become my first book, "Life is War But You Can Win." The phrases soldiers used became a kind of code language, the words did not always mean what they said. Instead, they were code for a message. "Don't mean nothin" was an expression heard all the time that haunts me to this day. Because "don't mean nothin" was really and truly the ultimate expression of protection. When a soldier was feeling so much pain they couldn't deal with it, they'd use that phrase as if almost to say, "I'm really hurting but this is not the place or time to express what I'm feeling because if I do, I'm just going to fucking self-destruct right in front of you!" That's one possible definition.

So I compiled the phrases I could remember, they started coming back to me as therapy moved on. A great guy, a Doctor, named Morrie Krikun, who ran a publishing company Morgin Press, responded to the manuscript (he was about the 25th person I'd sent it to) and published the small 96 page book.

In the small world of recovering vets, the book became a hit. It was bought by Vet Centers and Veterans Hospitals around the country and I guess it helped some people. I received some heartfelt letters, which in turn helped heal me even more. I truly felt that writing "Life is War" was about the best thing I'd ever done!

Stanley Thompson of Puppet Press is going to publish it as an ebook now, after its original publication ten years ago. We could call it the "Tenth Anniversary Edition." A lot of people have asked for the book since then. I even get messages from bookstores asking where they can get it.

So, thanks to Lee Fleming, who has fixed the manuscript for E-publishing, it is once again available. "Life is War But You Can Win" will be available on this website as well as on www.puppetpress.com as of July 4th.

The real thanks must also go to Linda Reinberg, who is not doing so well these days, but who was one person on earth who I can truly say, "gave me my life back."