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MY BROKEN SOLDIER
The untold story of life beyond the front line
- By Kaz Page
About the Book
When soldiers go to war, left behind are the wives, husbands, parents, and children. They are the silent majority, and they are victims of war too. But no one speaks of them, of their sacrifice, of their contribution, until now.
This is the story of one family’s resilience and ultimate triumph despite seemingly insurmountable odds.
My Broken Soldier takes the reader on a journey of life beyond the front line for those who serve and return home forever broken, and for the loved ones who walk the journey with them.
The book has been written for the unseen, the unacknowledged, the quiet sufferers of PTSD, anxiety, adjustment disorder, depression, substance abuse, blast trauma, bullet wounds, and all the other wounds no one sees. It has also been written for the families of soldiers who are either directly affected by their time spent at war or who never returned. Narrated by the author, Karen Page and interspersed with the perspective and reflections of her husband, soldier and former elite SAS candidate, Corporal Matthew John Page, My Broken Soldier transcends financial ruin, family politics, two wars and unspeakable loss.
Written with raw emotion and warts and all honesty, it depicts the struggle between a husband and wife fighting an invisible, ever-present ‘demon’ and a system that was meant to have their backs. Ultimately, this story is a vehicle to generate awareness about the injustices of an ironclad institution and to give a voice to those who love the broken or the ones who are no longer here to tell their stories.
This is the story of one family’s resilience and ultimate triumph despite seemingly insurmountable odds.
My Broken Soldier takes the reader on a journey of life beyond the front line for those who serve and return home forever broken, and for the loved ones who walk the journey with them.
The book has been written for the unseen, the unacknowledged, the quiet sufferers of PTSD, anxiety, adjustment disorder, depression, substance abuse, blast trauma, bullet wounds, and all the other wounds no one sees. It has also been written for the families of soldiers who are either directly affected by their time spent at war or who never returned. Narrated by the author, Karen Page and interspersed with the perspective and reflections of her husband, soldier and former elite SAS candidate, Corporal Matthew John Page, My Broken Soldier transcends financial ruin, family politics, two wars and unspeakable loss.
Written with raw emotion and warts and all honesty, it depicts the struggle between a husband and wife fighting an invisible, ever-present ‘demon’ and a system that was meant to have their backs. Ultimately, this story is a vehicle to generate awareness about the injustices of an ironclad institution and to give a voice to those who love the broken or the ones who are no longer here to tell their stories.
"There is much that needs to change in both the Australian Defence Force and the Department
of Veterans’ Affairs to stop the steady and constant flow of suicide within our returned troops
and to better help the families supporting them. I am but one voice. Hopefully through this book,
my voice will resonate loudly enough to help change come faster, smarter and with far greater
empathy than exists today. I don’t wish our story on anyone. We need to find a way to do better
for the broken. It’s a sad state of affairs when, in today’s society, we are more worried about
being politically correct, than calling a spade a spade. How many more soldiers have to kill
themselves because they feel there is no hope? This is why I think it is critically important to
share this story." - Karen Page
