Abstract
Shooting Ghosts is an autobiographical look into what war does to both the solider and to the journalist who covers him. Through intertwining narratives, the authors walk the reader through their experiences with war and conflict, the psychological trauma suffered from those experiences, and their long roads to redemption and recovery. As O’Reilly notes, he and Brennan “. . . embody the stereotypes of the broken military veteran and the damaged war journalist . . .,” and their unusual bond formed through trauma serves as a backdrop for the story.
Both men suffer from posttraumatic stress, though their experiences with symptoms and their methods for recovery are largely different. The book moves back and forth between first-person narrations from Brennan and O’Reilly, each detailing his struggles with intensely personal detail. The dichotomy of the two-narration format provides an interesting look at how something like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) manifests in both soldiers and journalists, illuminating the stark differences between the two without minimizing either experience. The authors’ willingness to share even their darkest moments is refreshing given the stigma surrounding mental illness that is ingrained in both military and journalism professions. For example, Brennan freely admits his struggles with anxiety and depression, a crumbling marriage, and his failed suicide attempt. O’Reilly invites the reader into his desperate attempts to reconcile the sadness and relief he feels as he realizes his career as a photojournalist is over. “There will always be another war. Just not for me,” he writes. Brennan is a retired Marine sergeant who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and later turned to journalism. O’Reilly was a photographer for Reuters in Africa and the Middle East.
The overriding theme of the book is redemption, with a clear goal of showing the reality of PTSD in both soldiers and journalists. In the first chapter, O’Reilly writes, “The last thing we want to do is perpetuate the myth of the trauma hero.” The authors achieve this by chronicling the rollercoaster of both triumphs and setbacks, making it clear that their journey with mental illness is not yet over, and may be lifelong.
The only drawbacks to the story are the sharp barbs threading through the book aimed at several sources the authors feel are responsible for not only their psychological trauma but also their difficult recovery. The overall war effort, the U.S. military and the Veterans Affairs (VA) system, the journalism field and the American public, are all assailed at various times. Taken within the context of the authors’ struggles, the criticisms are understandable but highly bitter. As a result, they distract from the overall redemptive message and feel out of place. Like suddenly flipping on a light in a dark room, the commentary is interjected at odd times and yanks the unsuspecting reader out of the intimate and revealing space the authors create. By the end of the book, the authors finally admit the rather obvious underlying storyline that they feel “. . . bitter and betrayed by our youthful ideals and by the institutions that sent us so willingly to war.” However, this admission might have been better placed at the beginning of the book to prepare the reader and soften the unintended effects of the commentary.
Shooting Ghosts is a well-written, interesting read. It contributes to the field of journalism by providing a detailed, personal account of what it is to suffer from and live through psychological injury as a journalist. The information is practical, real, and intertwined with academic research that helps explain traumatic stress in accessible terms. Like similar firsthand accounts from journalists who suffer from traumatic stress (see Irritable Hearts: A PTSD Love Story, by Mac McClelland; Ghosts by Daylight: A Memoir of War and Love, by Janine di Giovanni; or The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, by David J. Morris), the information in Shooting Ghosts suggests avenues for future research into how best to protect journalists from the mental and emotional hazards of their work and to provide help to the journalists who need it. In addition, by including the soldier’s perspective, Shooting Ghosts does a better job than its predecessors of providing a more complete picture of war and PTSD. O’Reilly and Brennan’s story allows the reader to learn about the bonds that photojournalists form with their subjects as a necessity of the job, while also getting a better understanding of what war does to those who participate in it and those who chronicle it.
