An Adventure in Grief

Catherine de Courcy, an Irish emigrant, spent 15 years of her life with John Johnson, an Australian army officer who was a Vietnam veteran devoured by post-traumatic stress. John's struggles eventually led him to take his own life. After his violent suicide Catherine was faced with an overwhelming grief, which she chose to confront head on. Unflinchingly and without self-pity, Catherine de Courcy looks at the hidden aspects of grief and how to manage the strange and unsettling challenges the loss of a loved one provokes. She also portrays with sympathy and honesty the devastating impact of post-traumatic stress on a Vietnam veteran long after the war. Catherine de Courcy, an Irish emigrant, spent 15 years of her life with John Johnson, an Australian army officer who was a Vietnam veteran devoured by post-traumatic stress. John's struggles eventually led him to take his own life. After his violent suicide Catherine was faced with an overwhelming grief, which she chose to confront head on. Unflinchingly and without self-pity, Catherine de Courcy looks at the hidden aspects of grief and how to manage the strange and unsettling challenges the loss of a loved one provokes. She also portrays with sympathy and honesty the devastating impact of post-traumatic stress on a Vietnam veteran long after the war.