A blog post from Anne:

As some people know, my family was in a serious car accident in December 2014, just before Christmas while on a road trip to South Africa. We were in the middle of nowhere. My 10 year old son broke his back and suffered internal injuries in the crash. My husband broke his leg. This story has a happy ending. My son, while still struggling a bit, is doing great, as is the rest of the family. The photo above is about a month after the accident, at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I am a U.S. Army veteran. Both my husband and I have deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Both my husband and I came out of our deployments relatively unscathed, unlike some of our friends and colleagues who did not fair so well. And, while I sympathized with those diagnosed with PTSD, I did not really understand what that means. Until now…

I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the accident. For me, it manifests as flashbacks. I am there. I am standing on the side of the road, in an empty desert. My children are crying. My son’s back is visibly broken as he is slumped over in the back seat. My husband’s face is bloody and his door is stuck. There is no one. Our first aid kit will not help anyone. There is nothing I can do. I am helpless to ease anyone’s suffering.

I am getting help for my PTSD. I have coping mechanisms and medication. I keep very busy. So, how does this tie into my writing?

Before the accident, I did my best plotting and idea generation during the quiet moments in my life. Walking, driving, showering, falling asleep, any activity that did not require active thought was a potential gold mine in writing inspiration. Now, however, if I have a quiet moment, I have to be very careful or thoughts of the accident will creep in. It has ground my writing to an almost complete halt. I am working on getting back into the swing of things, and I hope that talking about it a bit will help me.

I can’t go it alone and I don’t have to. I have my writing partners, my family and friends, and our supporters all over the world to encourage me. I know that eventually, I’ll get back to writing on a regular basis. In the meantime, I hope you’ll stick with me.

Thanks for listening,

Anne