Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 59 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Audible.com Release Date: March 12, 2013
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B00BB0GD4U
Best Sellers Rank: #87 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military > Afghan & Iraq Wars > Iraq War #199 in Books > History > Military > Iraq War #323 in Books > History > Military > Intelligence & Espionage
He gets 5 Stars for having the courage to talk about something few will. Read on...Mark's book adds a new and refreshing perspective on the modern day hero of the U.S. Navy SEALs and Special Operations community. His, like many Special Ops veterans of today, is an amazing story; from young Marine, to Navy SEAL, and beyond. His is a new path that deals with the elephant in the room nobody wants to talk about, PTSD, and how it can be dealt with in a positive manner.If you want a feel good Navy SEAL book that is full of bravado and meaningless war stories then move on, this isn't your book. If you want a gripping, heart wrenching book about, human sacrifice, the brotherhood, and the pound of flesh that modern combat takes from all who have been down range, then strap in and hold on for the ride.Brandon Webb, Editor of SOFREP.com, & author of NY Times Best Sellers, The Red Circle, and Benghazi: The Definitive Report
As a Gold star father and a PTSD survivor, Mark's story really touched me. I served in Iraq 2003-2004 and thought that was the worst year of my life. Then, I returned home "lost". I felt alone and scared of handling small challenges in daily life, let alone the tragedies of losing loved ones here. Mark's book was able to tell me how he came home and that a Navy SEAL can also be afraid and scared. Civilian life is a tough adjustment for returning warriors. His story of not only surviving the battles, but that he is surviving the mental war in his head, was incredible. Mark's book reminded me of how our combat wounded and KIA are treated in the war zone. Mark is a warrior, but he is much more. His story of strength, survival, and redemption should up lift all. For the families of the fallen, this book may shed some light on how the "DOCs" care for your loved one's and give them respect and dignity in the middle of battle with their self-less service. I love Mark and all DOCs, they truly are America's finest. I too felt the fear Mark describes in his book of "doing the right thing" and choosing "Who you are able to save and who ......." It gives me hope and the will to put one foot in front of the other and try "life" for another day. Please read it. Then, maybe, read it again.
Mark Donald--recipient of the Navy Cross--has written one of the most inspiring memoirs I have ever read. The author begins by describing his upbringing in a dysfunctional home in a rough Albuquerque neighborhood. He attributes any successes in life to his strong, insightful, and loving Catholic mother. She was his rock.The book traces Donald's military career first as a Recon Marine, then Navy SEAL, and later as a combat medic. In mid-career he is selected to attend the Navy's grueling year-long physician assistant program. Upon graduation he receives a commission as a Navy medical officer. He soon finds himself on the battlefields of Iraq and northern Afghanistan as a SEAL "shooter" and as a medic, a conundrum he must resolve. The battle scenes are vivid and detailed.The main theme of Donald's memoir is how he finally takes charge of the demons from his PTSD. Even as he comforts others, Donald shows signs of strain that overwhelm him upon his return from multiple tours of combat and threaten to destroy him and his family.Mark Donald has written a book of personal courage and sacrifice that will tug at your heart. "Battle Ready" is very well written--it reads like a novel.Thank you Mark Donald; you have written a book stemming from the heart that everyone should read, particularly veterans.
As an author and avid reader I found this book to be one of the most inspiring in many years. Mark Donald is a man who exhibits "quiet assurance" and does not refer to himself as a hero. His ability to take the reader on a journey into the depths of his life; the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly, is extraordinary. He begins with his childhood on the "not so good" streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico where a wrong decision could result in disaster. Raised by his mother and her strong character and values, Mark is torn between wanting to serve in the Marines yet not to abandon his family. He finds a way. As a Recon Marine, he discovers that his "calling" is in the medical field. To follow this path, he is discharged from the Marines and enlists in the Navy to become a hospital corpsman and then, with his recon background, he applies to become a Navy SEAL. The reader experiences highlights of the arduous training attempted by many yet attained by few, to wear the gold Trident of a SEAL. His role is sometimes conflicting: To save lives as a hospital corpsman, and, if necessary, to take lives as a "shooter", in order to save the lives of his team mates and others. His experiences and actions in Iraq and northern Afghanistan are vivid and emotionally described. Suffering the effects of PTSD which threatens to destroy the family he loves, he faces it head on in a positive manner with determination to succeed. Mark Donald is not only a hero, he is an inspiration to all who meet him.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, brought out the human side of the writer and the warrior side. Brought out the trials and tribulations of being a SEAL a son ,a Dad and husband during times of war. I would recommend this book to all who are interested in how freedom is paid for.
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