I recovered because of my obsession to get better, the support of my family and a mental health system that worked. My book takes you inside the Ward 17 psych unit in Melbourne, where I spent 77 days and nights over a two-year period with veterans and first responders. I introduce you to moral injury, a condition similar to PTSD but which is a distinct affliction that can occur in any occupation/walk of life. It just needs someone’s idea of what’s right to be violated strongly enough.

What worked for me was approaching my trauma with curiosity. Total honesty with my partner Mary. Never giving up. Understanding the nature of my identity wound, my anger, and seeking meaning from life.

I show how employers are brutalising and abandoning a cohort of workers — veterans, first responders and journalists. But while I focus on those occupations, I believe my book is a roadmap for anyone trying to heal from trauma. It explains why PTSD is such a limiting diagnosis for some. People will (hopefully) understand why trauma makes their male partners difficult, sometimes impossible, to live with. Clinicians should learn something, because I never gave my good ones (all women) a chance to rest! And organisational leaders will get a breath-taking insight into the consequences of not taking workplace mental health seriously.

My memoir might be tough to read. It’s also uplifting. I hope it will inspire and bring about change.