Souled Out: A Memoir of War and Inner Peace

by Michael S. Orban

Book Overview

A personal voyage through a 30 year battle with Post Traumatic Stress and years living in the jungles of Africa trying to restore my soul after the Vietnam War This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0976758113
• ISBN13: 9780976758112
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Silver Rings Press
• Length: 179 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 8.5" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Too long a journey

I've known Mike almost my whole life. I knew him before Vietnam and after. Reading his book explained so much for me about the life of horror and fear that he experienced for so many years. There were so many things that he couldn't explain. As he explains in the book, he just couldn't put his finger on it. I'm so thankful that his survival instinct kept him around to tell this story. The real message here is for anyone with post traumatic stress issues and that message is that you can get help. The resources today are so much better than in the past. PTSD is part of the our lives and we need to help our friends and loved ones who are suffering because of it. Mike's life now is all about getting this message out. Our job as a society is to help further the message. As another reviewer said, people don't believe that they'll be able to relate to his story. However, they change their mind after reading it. I recommend the book, not only to those with PTSD - from combat or crime or any of the other of many causes, but also to the other people in their lives. It may help to explain the dark places and why so many feel so stuck there. One other thing about this book that I need to mention is that Mike's storytelling, especially about his experiences in Africa, are wonderful. Thanks, Mike.

Review by Al Goshaw, Professor Duke University

I found this to be one of the most thought provoking books I have recently read. The experiences of Michael Orban in Vietnam and Africa are a wonderful adventure story,but also carry a powerful message about the impact war has on a soldier when placed back into civilian life. The description of his struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome are so timely with the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The physical and emotional damage these conflicts are inflicting on our most patriotic men and women are painfully illustrated by Orban's experiences. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with PTSS, and family members who are trying to understand the impact of war on a soldier's life. In addition you will find the book to be a fascinating story about Orban's travels through Vietnam, the Peace Core, Africa and middle America.

Souled Out, A must read for all vets

I am a Desert Storm vet and served in the Infantry for 9 years from 1985 through 1994. I really did not think that this book would mean all that much to me or relate to my experiences. I could not have been more wrong, I found myself time and time again realizing that I shared many of the same emotions and feelings that he was writing about. My combat experience was not even close to the extent of Mr. Orban's but yet I got so much out of this book. His style of writing has a way of really putting you there with him as he struggles to find his way. It also helps you to understand some of the feelings that you may have had or continue to struggle with. In addition, I found his Peace Corps experiences fascinating. A great read, pick it up, you won't regret it!

much to be gained from reading this book

There are many areas that Michael Orban effectively addresses in "Souled Out: A Memoir of War and Inner Peace." He describes some of his experiences in the Vietnam War. For me this was helpful in having a more clear and explicit understanding of the horrors of the Vietnam War, and any war. He describes experiences that are probably quite universal for (and unique to) returning veterans, such as ... the hopes for returning home helping him to survive mentally and emotionally during the combat experience, but the reality on his return being much different than his expectations. To read his book I think helps give non-soldiers and non-veterans a better idea of what soldiers are experiencing on returning from the current war. This makes it a timely book. He describes experiences with post-traumatic stress, and these will be familiar and ring true to anyone who copes with it also. It's good when you are a survivor of trauma to have validation of your emotional experience, by hearing or reading about others with similar experiences. It helps to "normalize" the experience, and this is important. His book performs this function effectively. Also, there are at least a couple of descriptions of medical experiences that could resonate for survivors... not being understood by health care practitioners, needs not being met or even acknowledged. This is another issue probably quite significant to returning soldiers and veterans, and, again, to anyone dealing with post-traumatic stress. Orban integrates psychology with his experience in a way that helps the psychology aspect of it to be more palatable and more digestible, and therefore more meaningful. He's also very eloquent. Reading the book there were things that he articulates so well. I thought, "Thank you for helping me put my thoughts into words." The idea that's foundational to the title, of the soul being out, is both poetic and perhaps very true in a real spiritual sense. This is one of those beautifully-articulated passages in the book. He effectively describes survival, helps to convey in a clear sense what survival is. Orban describes his experience as a soldier and veteran of the Vietnam war, and experiences that have helped to mend his soul following the horror and devastation of war. He weaves in post-traumatic stress issues artistically, in a very readable way. He presents assistive resources (at the end of the book). I strongly recommend this book to any reader. It will help readers of younger generations to understand better some of the circumstances of Vietnam veterans, so historically this is an important book. It can help other survivors of trauma to perhaps integrate some of the fragments resulting from their own experiences.

Excellent read!

This memoir is an excellent read concerning the journey of one's man desire to discover the truth behind his depression. Post Tramatic Stress Syndrome is a raging reality for many of us today. Orban shares his experiences with this disease and tells how he managed to accept his life.