The blue cascade: a memoir of life after war

An Iraq War veteran candidly recounts his troubled post-war life and journey to confronting PTSD in this “unflinchingly honest . . . gut-wrencher of a book” (Kirkus).   As a Marine on the front line of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Lieutenant Scotti was taught that weakness gets you killed. To survive, you must focus on your objective and act without hesitation. Upon returning from war, Scotti approached his new life the same way. He ignored the creeping depression and numbness he called "The Blue Cascade" and charged toward his goal of getting an MBA, securing a finance job, and retiring young.   All the while, Scotti was being eaten away inside. Scenes of drunken emotion and raging violence were becoming more and more frequent. Years after returning from active combat, he found himself contemplating suicide before a series of powerful events changed the course of his life.   As the narrator and star of the 2009 documentary Severe Clear, Scotti offered an intimate look at the realities of modern combat. In The Blue Cascade, he opens up about his path to healing and how he found a very different mantra for survival: It's ok if you are not ok.