An Inspirational Story of Survival by a Milwaukee Combat Veteran

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Mindfulness meditation has been steadily increasing in popularity among Americans over the past five years, growing more than threefold between 2012 and 2017, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the fastest growing areas of meditation research is focused on how combat veterans may benefit from the practice to help them heal from PTSD and the moral injuries of war.

Like so many soldiers who carry both physical and mental wounds of war off the battlefield, Milwaukeean Tom Voss struggled in his attempts to reintegrate back into American society. After returning from his deployment, Voss, who served as an infantryman in a scout-sniper platoon in Mosul, Iraq, dropped into a dangerous depression before he and a military friend made the life-changing decision to walk 2,700 miles from Milwaukee to the Pacific Ocean. It was on this quest that Voss discovered meditation and so began an intensive study of the practice.

His complete transformation is documented in the memoir Where War Ends: A Combat Veteran’s 2,700-Mile Journey to Heal―Recovering from PTSD and Moral Injury through Meditation, which he co-authored with his sister Rebecca Ann Nguyen. His journey (the literal cross-country walking as well as the spiritual transformation) was also documented in the Emmy-nominated 2016 documentary, Almost Sunrise. Voss has shared his inspirational story of survival and healing in presentations at Google, Aspen Ideas Festival, The Harvard Club of New York City, New York University and the U.S. Congress. On Thursday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m., Voss and Nguyen will discuss their book, Where War Ends, at Boswell Book Co.