Autopsy of War: A personal History

Author: John A. Parrish,M.D.
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press

Autopsy of War
John A Parish

As a book publicity firm, we see lots of books cross our desks here at Newman Communications and some make a strong statement to those of us working them.  This book is no exception, and in fact, it prompted me to make a donation to the USO and tell my friends and colleagues about it. How does a man or woman return from war and resume a “normal” life. How do you deal with the horrors that you have seen during war and transform back to everyday life?  John Parrish’s book, Autopsy of War, shows that it is not an easy task for our returning warriors.  Even with a very successful medical career, Parrish couldn’t shake the PTSD that haunted his every move.  John Parrish came to us for a full book publicity campaign in the hopes that his experience  will reach those most in need of his message, the many soldiers that think they are alone with their anguish. Whether they have lost limbs or the damage is unseen to the eye, the struggle that our returning heroes face is gigantic.

Navy physician John Parrish served in Vietnam, an experience that seared him to the bone.  In the ensuing four decades, Parrish became recognized as one of the most innovative physicians in his field, yet he was tortured by PTSD.  Now, in AUTOPSY OF WAR: A Personal History, Parrish presents a profound and unflinching memoir of a physician’s wartime work in Vietnam and his forty-year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

John’s struggle was highlighted in The Boston Globe interview for their G Section and our radio publicity campaign has garnered many hits including:

• Clearchannel Network & SiriusXM
• Premiere Radio Network – national
• Lifestyle Radio Network – national
  and local radio stations nationwide

When he first arrived in Vietnam, Parrish was a triage doctor, treating as many as thirty patients a day with wounds more destructive and life-altering than anything he had ever encountered.  He did his best but never felt like it was enough.  Dismembered limbs and other body parts flowed through his hands for hours on end, and these tragic triage scenes were not something his mind would ever  forget.  When not working on wounded servicemen, Parrish also tended to patients at a tuberculosis hospital in Hue, which was run by Vietnamese Catholic nuns.  He felt he was doing some good there, until the Tet Offensive brought the Viet Cong to Hue, where they executed the patients because they had been treated by an American doctor, and also killed the nuns for working with Parrish. Parrish would also spend time in the field, which was a particularly difficult time for him, since it was then, says Parrish, that “I felt a duty to find meaning in the war so I could convince myself the dead had not died in vain.”

Although happy to return home to the States, Parrish left Vietnam feeling guilty about leaving behind so much suffering.  He also returned home a different person. He found himself physically and emotionally unavailable to his wife and children, developed an obsession with war books and movies, and over the ensuing years, would suffer harrowing flashbacks.  Fighting the mental devastation of war, Parrish lived virtually homeless at times, visited veterans’ shelters and fled his family while reliving his Vietnam experience over and over again.  Despite the fact that he managed to establish a prominent medical career, few knew how his inner demons took over the rest of his life.  “I found myself increasingly restless, tortured, and lonely,” says Parrish, “never more so than at social events or professional meetings where my peers assumed I was in control.”  The present continued to mingle with the past as haunting images of Vietnam lingered in his mind, until the door to recovery finally opened after years of pain and struggle.

AUTOPSY OF WAR is a soul-searching and intensely personal journey through the world of war and recovery. An honest, moving, and intimate view of one man’s courageous battle to overcome PTSD, it is a highly relevant story today as soldiers return to the U.S. from abroad with challenges to face.  “I accept that there will always be war,” says Parrish, “but I need to believe more can be done to help its victims, specifically the warriors who have left the battlefield but not their personal war.  This book is witness to the power of time, acceptance, self-discovery, hard work, and love in belatedly diminishing one man’s psychic war.”

About the Author:

JOHN A PARRISH, M.D., is the CEO of the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT); the CEO of the Red Sox Foundation-Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program (an outreach program to help veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars with PTSD and traumatic brain injury); and Distinguished Professor of Dermatology and former department head at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.  He is the author of 12, 20 & 5: A Doctor’s Year in Vietnam.

To learn more about Autopsy of War please visit:  http://autopsyofwar.com/

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Book Promotion for DREAM BIG:

Dream Big
Deloris Jordan

Author:  Deloris Jordan
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster

Newman Communications is proud to announce that we have just completed a successful book promotion radio (RMT) tour with Deloris Jordan,  mother of NBA legend Michael Jordan.  We previously did the book promotion of her last book MICHAEL’S GOLDEN RULES and it was an absolute pleasure to work with her again.  Her new book, DREAM BIG: MICHAEL JORDAN AND THE PURSUIT OF OLYMPIC GOLD tells the story of Michael Jordan achieving his dream of playing in the Olympics! This new book will have you cheering for Michael again and will get you pumped for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London!

About The Book:

Deloris Jordan,  mother of basketball great Michael Jordan, tells a true story of inspiration, hard work, determination and what it takes to be a champion.  As a child, l0ng before he became a professional All- Star basketball player, Michael Jordan had a big dream of winning an Olympic gold medal while following the 1972 U.S. basketball team- and with dedication and perseverance, that’s exactly what he did. This heartwarming book gives a rare glimpse into a sports hero’s childhood while emphasizing the role that hard work plays in success.

Just in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, DREAM BIG is an inspiration to all. Mrs. Jordan’s family story will inspire children to be champions- both on and off the field.  Barry Roots warm illustrations illuminate this story about what it truly means to be a winner.

Newman Communications was able to secure interviews on such stations as:

• SiriusXM Book Radio
• WLS-AM in Chicago,  IL
• AARP Radio
• WGVU-AM/ FM in Grand Rapids, MI
• WBAL-AM in Baltimore,  MD
• AP Radio Network

About the Author and Illustrator:

Deloris Jordan is Michael Jordan’s mother. Widely regarded as an advocate for children and families,  she does much of her work through the James R. Jordan Foundation.  She is author of Salt in His Shoes and Michael’s Golden Rules, both illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The mother of five children and the grandmother of eleven,  she resides in Chicago, IL.

Barry Root is the illustrator of many books for children, including By My Brother’s Slide, Game Day, and Teammates, all written by Tiki and Ronde Barber with Robert Burleigh. He lives in Quarryville, Pennsylvania with his family.

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Following Atticus

Author: Tom Ryan
Publisher: William Morrow

Following Atticus - Tom Ryan

Newman Communications’ faith in humanity was restored when we were visited by author Tom Ryan and his buddy Atticus M. Finch.  Atticus, who is the central character in Ryan’s book, Following Atticus is an adorable miniature schnauzer.  Atticus was a perfect guest and but didn’t have very much to say, so he let Tom Ryan do all the talking.  Tom and Atticus had just completed a successful  radio book  publicity campaign which found them talking of their adventures with more than 25 stations across the country, including:

• NPR in WI
• USA Radio Network
• Lifestyle Network

Now once again, with Atticus in the lead, Tom  came  back to Newman Communications  to begin a new adventure in TV, Online and Print book publicity campaign for Following Atticus.

Get a quick look at the beautiful trailer for the book

About the Author

Tom Ryan is the founder of the Newburyport, Massachusetts, newspaper the Undertoad and served as its publisher and editor for more than a decade. It wasn’t until he bonded with Atticus that he realized how stressed and unhappyhe was. Middle-aged, overweight, and acrophobic Tom and Atticus were an unlikely pair of mountaineers, but after a close friend dies of cancer, the two pay tribute to her by attempting to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. In a rare test of endurance, Tom and Atticus set out on an adventure of a lifetime that takes them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland.

As Ryan says:  “In telling the story of my friend, Atticus M. Finch, I often think of the something Antoine de Saint Exupery wrote, ‘Perhaps the act of love is my gently leading you back to yourself.’ For that’s what this little dog did. He led, I followed, and in the end I became the man I dreamed of being when I was a little boy.”

“Not your standard mountain adventure book. . . . Reading Following Atticus can feel like taking a long walk, or a series of walks, with a great storyteller. Why ‘follow Atticus?’ Because, [Ryan says], ‘Dogs, like mountains, bring you back to yourself.’” (AMC Outdoors ).

Tom Ryan, Atticus and Newman Communications would like to help you  see what it means to love an animal, find your true self and maybe create a few smiles along the way.

To learn more about Following Atticus please visit: http://tomandatticus.blogspot.com/

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A Major League Book Promotion Tour

Out of My League - Dirk Hayhurst

When asked what comes to mind when you think about spring, book promotion usually isn’t the answer you get. Instead your likely to hear answers like, Green Grass, Flowers, and … BASEBALL! Yes, spring training is here! The grass is cut,  the teams are practicing and before you know it will be Opening Day! Get out your peanuts, cracker jacks, and your favorite baseball cap and get ready to cheer on the hometown team. While some of us are content to cheering in the stands, others have bigger dreams. Dreams of taking a major league outfield, the pitchers mound,  or running the bases after hitting a home run! That’s where Dirk Hayhurst’s story starts, when he got called up from the minors in 2008 to play for the San Diego Padres! Newman Communications had the great great opportunity to provide and coordinate Dirk’s book promotion and publicity tour packed with with a radio and print exposure!

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Book Publicity for The Pact: Bill Clinton, New Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation

Author: Steven M Gillon
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The Pact

Celebrated historian Steven M. Gillon has teamed up with Newman Communications for a national book publicity radio tour in support of his new book, The Pact: Bill Clinton, New Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation. This election year book publicity tour took Gillon around the country to discuss presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his relationship with former President Bill Clinton. Newman worked with the author to secure spots on local and national radio stations including interviews with

• Dan Raviv on the CBS Radio Network
• Sirius XM broadcast with Rusty Humphries
• Louisiana Radio Network (NPR)
• America’s Radio News Network

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Filed under: Bios and Memoirs, Politics & Government, Site News | No Comments »