Helping Our Hero (and the family) Heal from War

Helping My Hero, My Hero is Home, and My Hero Hurts are three books I hope you never need. These books are a new addition to Cru Military’s Bridges to Healing Series. They were sent to me a few months ago in exchange for my humble opinion. To be honest, I didn’t want to finish them. They were hard to read.

Our Hero- The Reality

As a mom of military brats, I know the realistic need for these books, but I don’t want to need them. We’ve had our share and more of Combat Trauma within our community. It has not hit our home in the same ways described in the book, but that does not mean we are not immune to the aftermath of war in our family.

These books are needed resources in every military home.

I wish I could live in the world Dr. Phil describes:

You never ask kids to deal with adult issues & you do not burden them with situations they can’t control. #DrPhilpic.twitter.com/ecYW44YY2W

— Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) November 4, 2025

But that isn’t the reality for our children. Our kids have to face adult issues whether we want them to or not. In addition to waiting for her daddy to return from deployments, my middle child was diagnosed with cancer at 6 months old, both an adult issue and a situation outside of her control. She grew up fast. She’s grown up faster then her siblings. (You can read more of her story here: Our St. Jude story, how it began.)

Our Hero- War Changes Us All

The love of my life has been deployed twice and thankfully came home to us each time. But he never comes home exactly the same. A year changes you. War changes you. We all know it, it’s not something you can hide from the children who live in the same home with you. We’ve been blessed in that the changes have not been major. There is a need for calm, an avoidance of crowds, an understanding of when daddy needs some quiet space. Not every family has the same and the resources to help the children understand what is happening have been few.

Sherry Barron and Nick Adduce saw a need within our community and have addressed it. They have created three workbooks for varying ages. Each book is faith based and centered around the need for physical well being, spiritual well being, and mental well being.

• My Hero’s Home, a coloring book for K-3rd graders, is a simplified version of the complexities of Combat Trauma seen through the eyes of a child. The book is split into 13 sections with corresponding activities, pictures to color, talking points, Bible verses, and a prayer.
• Helping My Hero!! A Guide for Young Readers Whose Parents May Have Combat Trauma is the first book I picked up and the hardest one for me to read through. My knee jerk reaction to the opening story was that it was over the top, that doesn’t happen. But after I put it down, walked away for a bit, I realized it does in fact happen. I’ve seen it happen. And while it is not the majority reaction, those it does happen to are left with no resources to help them get through it. PTSD is such a hard thing to talk about because we struggle with the balance of stigmatizing verses helping. The purpose of this book is to help the child who is watching their parent change. This book is set up so that it could be used in a group setting or where one child can look through it on their own. It’s going on our bookshelf. The one at eye level for 10-year-olds.
• My Hero Hurts!! A Study Guide for Teenagers Whose Parents May Have Combat Trauma is a progression from the first two. Each book touches a little more on the details of PTSD in a way that the intended audience can grasp what they need to know while not having information overload. This workbook addresses topics that would be difficult for the younger readers like Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), abuse, the stages of grief, family roles and responsibilities, and more. It dives deeper into questions of faith, not relying on the easier answers that were found in the previous two books. This book offers direction and empowerment for the teen. It gives direction and a path to pursue to help the family.

Our Hero-Healing the Spirit

These books are a necessary component to a military family’s library. They will remain in mine. They do not hold all the answers. They acknowledge the need for spiritual healing in the face of PTSD and focus mainly on faith as a healing component. The answer seems to lie for the child in Christian community and faith in Christ. Healing the spirit is one of the many steps that needs to happen. There also needs to be a healing of the mind and the body.

If you are a military family with children I highly recommend you have these three books on hand along with Warning Signs by Judy Davis. Seeing the struggles our children face is the first step in helping them (My teen is in crisis! What do I do?). Providing them with the tools necessary to thrive through the adult issues and situations outside of their control is next (Bridges to Healing Series). Supporting them as they struggle through their own faith, STS, and any other things that life throws at them is essential. Be open to their questions, listen to their concerns, don’t try to fix everything but guide them as they walk this journey that is their life. Most importantly let them know they are loved and you are there for them.

Grab your copy of these books to help your hero and your children!