“Shell Shock is rooted in the past and the indisputable truths continue to resonate… for which it becomes nearly impossible to tell where the fiction stops and the story continues… in a fast paced read that is reminiscent of Dan Brown.”
—Chad Clement, Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3), US NAVY SEAL (RETIRED)
“Shell Shock is not only a page-turner but a tour de force first-novel by renowned psychiatrist Stephen Stahl. It is sure to be a major motion picture.”
—Louann Brizendine, M.D., New York Times Bestselling Author of The Female Brain and The Male Brain
“For as long as humans could write, hard-to-swallow truths have been delivered in the form of entertaining stories, and “Shell Shock,” is no exception. Gripping and thrilling to the very end, Dr. Stahl’s story entertains while highlighting the mental health consequences of warfare and the historic denial of same. The modern era is no exception, making “Shell Shock” not only enjoyable to read, but also timely and inspiring.”
—Lieutenant Commander Dr. Wil Sauve, former U.S. Navy psychiatrist embedded with army troops in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedo
“Iconic psychopharmacologist Stephen Stahl demonstrates his mastery of the crime mystery genre in a shock and awe novel that barrels along with Stahl’s customary brio while informing us about PTSD and, as ever, man’s inhumanity to man.”
—Professor Gordon Parker,Black Dog Institute, Australia
“Spanning a hundred years, the engrossing narrative blends fact and fiction and shows how little we have changed in our attitudes to mental illness, most particularly PTSD. This book is, in turns, a newspaper expose and a crime thriller. Just how much of it is true? For once the reader is left desperately hoping that what he is reading is pure fiction.”
—Professor David Taylor, Institute of Psychiatry and Maudsley Hospital, London
“When you finish the incredibly timely story of the last 100 years of PTSD, you only realize that this gripping tale of Stahl’s mixture of civilian and military approaches to trauma have highlighted society’s failure to confront important human problems. The similarities of the consequences to warfare for individual fighters regardless of the conflict are striking… I cannot wait for the sequel .”
—David Kupfer, MD, Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
“A rip-roaring thriller that both entertains and educates. Stahl’s depiction of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is terrifyingly accurate and will do more to educate the lay public about this serious disorder than a thousand public service announcements on late night television. He weaves the pain of the PTSD sufferer with psychiatric and military history in a seamless manner. He now joins David Baldacci, Lee Childs, John Katzenbach and Stephan Hunter as one of the novelists who keeps the reader up late, too engrossed to turn out the lights.”
—Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D., Leonard M. Miller Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami
“A thrilling detective story that movingly captures the experiences of war’s psychological casualties. Shell Shock‘s fast-paced narrative takes you on an eye-opening journey from the battlefields of World War I through the conflicts of today. Breathtaking and enlightening!”
—Paul Lerner, Associate Professor of History, University of Southern California and author of Hysterical Men: War, Psychiatry, and the Politics of Trauma in Germany, 1890-1930.
Shell Shock is an illuminating account of the history and tragedy of the military’s management of the psychological wounds of war woven into a clever and compelling fictional narrative. Part James Michener, part Ken Follett, only the inventive and multi-talented Stephen Stahl could tell this story in such a informative and interesting fashion.
—Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, is the Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is the past President of the American Psychiatric Association and the author of Shrinks, The Untold Story of Psychiatry.