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The Blue Cascade: A Memoir of Life after War Audiobook
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(4.11) - 47 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In this searing and beautifully written memoir, Marine Lieutenant and CNN Op-Ed contributor Mike Scotti charts a course from the front lines of Iraq back home to New York, showing how sometimes the hardest battle is the one after the war.
Sometimes the hardest battle is the one after the war. As one of the soldiers on the front line of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Lieutenant Scotti was taught that weakness is what gets you killed: no hesitation, focus your energies on your objective, and complete the mission. Upon returning from war, Scotti approached his new life the same way. He ignored the creeping depression and numbness he called "The Blue Cascade" and charged ahead toward his goal to get an MBA, secure a high-paying finance job, and retire young and rich.
But he was being eaten away inside, and scenes of drunken emotion and raging violence were becoming more and more frequent. Years after returning from active combat, he eventually found himself contemplating suicide. Through a series of powerful events, Scotti was ultimately able to find a path to healing and begin his journey back to life, finally emerging with the following wisdom for fellow sufferers of post-traumatic stress:It's ok if you are not ok.
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"This is a heartbreaking memoir about the psychological cost of war. It is very well written and a quick read for the subject matter. Hopefully, it will help other vets feel like they are not alone and will encourage individuals who need help to get it."
— Michelle (5 out of 5 stars)
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“One Marine’s story of how his ability to channel his military training into several important civilian endeavors shows how the discipline and fraternity of the Marines can overcome post-deployment stresses.”
— Library Journal -
“An unapologetic gut-wrencher of a book.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“If you’ve ever suspected that the television tributes to ‘our heroes’ stank of Hollywood and have wanted to know what our fighting men really think, read this book. The Blue Cascade reveals what the fighting has done to them. Unflinchingly honest, it often reads like a private diary or a letter to a best friend. Scotti, a Marine infantryman, was of course brave in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but thankfully for us he’s equally brave in describing what modern warfare is really like, and what a struggle it is to readjust to normal life—a struggle that he, and many like him, often face alone.”
— Ben Anderson, author of No Worse Enemy: The Inside Story of the Chaotic Struggle for Afghanistan
The Blue Cascade Listener Reviews
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" "But it ended up being all for bullshit." It's not that I didn't know, it's that hearing him say it ~ His words will haunt me forever! "
— Jennifer, 7/2/2013 -
" Any American who has an opinion on the Iraq War should read this book. (And really, who doesn't have an opinion on the war?) Scotti's book is more proof that our world is not black and white - it is incredibly gray. "
— Jasmine, 3/24/2013 -
" "The Blue Cascade" is a brutally honest account of fighting on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the way the human mind is ravaged by war. Well done Mike Scotti. "
— John, 3/11/2013 -
" Very powerful account of how a soldier doesn't leave the war behind when they leave the battlefield. It gave me a better understanding of what veteran's have been through, and of the camaraderie that comes of sharing the experience of war. "
— Diana, 5/8/2012
About Mike Scotti
Mike Scotti joined the United States Marine Corps Reserves while still an undergraduate at the University of Miami, Florida. After graduation, he attended the Marine Corps’s Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and served four years on active duty as an artillery officer and platoon commander in the First Marine Division. After being honorably discharged from active duty, Scotti attended the New York University Stern School of Business, where he received a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in finance. He is the subject of the critically acclaimed, award-winning documentary Severe Clear, which was created from the extensive video journals he kept while serving in Iraq.