The Body's Burning Fields: Poems of Illness and Healing

Literature & Fiction

Marguerite Guzmán Bouvard

Poetry

Wind Publications

There’s no real homecoming for many of our veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They may go through the motions of daily life in their hometowns, but the terrible sights and sounds of war are still fresh in their minds. This empathic, inside look into the lives of our combat veterans reveals the lingering impact that the longest wars in our nation’s history continue to have on far too many of our finest young people. Basing her account on numerous interviews with veterans and their families, the author examines the factors that have made these recent conflicts especially trying. A major focus of the book is the extreme duress that is a daily part of a soldier’s life in combat zones with no clear frontlines or perimeters. Having to cope with unrecognizable enemies in the midst of civilian populations and attacks from hidden weapons like improvised explosive devices exacts a heavy toll. Compounding the problem is the all-volunteer nature of our armed forces, which often demands multiple deployments of enlistees. This results in frequent cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and families disrupted by the long absence of one and sometimes both parents. The author also discusses the lack of connectedness between civilian society and military personnel, leading to inadequate healthcare for many veterans. This deficiency has been highlighted by the urgent need to treat traumatic brain injuries in survivors of explosions and the high veteran suicide rate. Bouvard concludes on a positive note by discussing some of the surprising and encouraging ways that the chasm between civilian and military life is being bridged to help reintegrate our returning soldiers. For veterans, their families, and especially for civilians unaware of how much our soldiers have endured, The Invisible Wounds of War is important reading.

Invisible Wounds of War: Coming Home from Iraq and Afghanistan

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Mental Health

Prometheus

Social justice at the grass roots

In this book Marguerite Bouvard explores the power of working for social justice and community building at the grass roots level. An experienced scholar of American politics, Bouvard reveals that while views may clash at the federal and state level, the local level is a very important venue, where individuals and groups can create understanding between different faiths and help marginalized people feel empowered. The leaders and founders of these groups have not worked from the top down, but reached out to people at their own level to work together for positive change. Their much needed emotional and social intelligence reveals how one person can indeed make a difference when problems seem overwhelming. American may live in a divided country, yet this book reveals how our different faiths and backgrounds are able to work together on such important issues such as climate change, promoting understanding among diverse religions, and legal and social help for undocumented immigrants. It also discusses grass roots approaches to providing health care for the poor and underserved as well as how to integrate people with disabilities as productive members of society. Two of the chapters feature young people who are working with these issues. Social Justice at the Grass Roots is meant to empower young people as well as adults and help them to understand that they can make changes that bring us together. It reveals that compassion can overcome fear and misunderstanding to celebrate our diversity and argues that a different kind of power, one based on moral values, can make it possible for heterogeneous groups to progress in solving important problems in our society.

Social Justice at the Grass Roots

Academica Press

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Books by Marguerite Guzmán Bouvard