One cannot manage what one fails to understand. Readjustment without understanding is a trial and error process that can take years to grasp, and can often create cooccurring issues in the interim, including marital problems, substance abuse, loss of employment and isolation from family and friends. Writing takes the unmanageable thoughts inside the writer’s mind and puts them on paper, or a computer screen, where they can be carefully considered, processed and understood. Thoughts are fleeting, and often go in a circular downward spiral; the written word is not. It can be edited and refined. When a writer says exactly what they mean, they are able to more accurately interpret their inner life.

Writeface has worked with veterans who were on the brink of suicide and have seen them evolve through the writing process and, emerge with a newfound, selfawareness and confidence in their own abilities to manage their response to civilian life.