Book excerpt: Of Broken Pieces and Light Ahead is a compilation of prose and poetry that speaks to both our individual and shared human experience, of trauma, of healing and ultimately triumph. It is an exquisite yet profound portrayal of the winding and intertwining road that led the author from helplessness to empowerment, from fragmented to whole, and from darkness to light. It takes the reader on a journey through vivid snapshots of war, love, life and death, seen both through the lens of PTSD and from the perspective of someone who has overcome it.