Description

By Rosaleen O’Brien

ISBN: 978-1-84747-669-2
Published: 2008
Pages: 50
Key Themes: poetry, war, fictional account, Middle East, author who suffrered trauma

Description

This book introduces us to a new phase in the theatre of war in the Middle East.

All partakers had been trained with both land and sea forces and were in a situation both to attack and defend. Controlling the air over North Africa and the Mediterranean was of vital importance and Rosaleen captures this in it`s full embellishment. We can read about what it was like under the blazing hot sun as a Boston has returned from a raid four brave South Africans come in and report.

This book will thrill you the reader and is a fine tribute to all those who have been part of the desert war. Describing how it was hard to come to terms with too little water in the summer and perhaps too much in winter it creates a scene
which brings our heroes alive again with these historic stories that may have been forgotten due to age and infirmity. This desert war was at times almost impossible with the sand storms, which stripped tents, covered everything with sand and almost stopped the planes from flying. This is a little gem of a book and deserves a place near to the reader`s heart. Read about the worse fear of all facing every R A F fighter, that of being stranded without food or water, this was a constant fact that had to be considered at all times. To read this book is an appreciation of the war and how hard it was to win, taking into account the strength of the enemy,planting hundreds of thousands of land mines were a problem to be dealt with. Every man of every rank piled in a carried on till the job was done, Rosaleen writes this book in way that shows the combined dedicated spirit of these our men of the R. A. F and other forces without whom we may not be able to say today…R A F Heroes of the desert war…They remembered our country. Will you remember them and their families?

About the Author

I have been in receipt of trauma counselling since 1999 on a daily basis,at times speaking till the early hours of the morning.Support from my trauma Counsellor helps me to come to terms with accepting that what has happened to me cannot now be changed. I cannot ever forgive those who had a vicarious liability to look after me and failed. As a result of being locked away for some years all because we were poor has brought certain limitations to my day to day life. Writing is a form of therapy and allows me to be free to be the person that I want to be, and should have been my birthright. Through writing I can reach out to others who may have had such an unfortunate experience as myself . Daily flashbacks can be upsetting and I fill my life with things to do so as to block them out. Day to day life can be exhausting and coping mechanisms that I learnt in order to survive have not helped me in the outside world. God help all fellow survivors and perhaps one day Ireland will accept the terrible price we paid. Shame on all you right thinking residents in Ireland to allow the government and Catholic Church to ignore harm done to me and many others who are either dead or too ill to tell their story. Thanks to Chipmunkapublishing I have been able to confront my demons and a Big Thank you to Reatha my trauma counsellor without her I would not be here today writing about my stolen life.

Book Extract

Oxygen was used to keep our heroes alive
Freezing cold conditions had to be faced
Would they in such hostile conditions survive?
Paralysis of the limbs was another real threat
Those brave men gave their all
And on many occasions faced death
Deep sea divers knew also of pain
Cruelly squeezing their bodies in spasms
Would they ever be right again?
Deep sea divers had problems with gas
Expanding the intestines
And it could not be passed
Flying officer W W R Reynolds
Flew a Spitfire `playing by the rules`
Concerned about his height at 40,000 feet
And the problems of fuel
Needing to loose some in order
To heighten further his attack
Started to circle up there in that grey sky
Contemplating on what the result may be
And in times of frustration asking Why?
Those heroes were not young
Reynolds was forty and so brave

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