Description
Many veterans face varying degrees of reintegration difficulties after exiting a military career. These can be minor obstacles, such as learning how to prepare a resume for future employment, to severe hindrances such as substance abuse and outbursts of violence. However, the ultimate reintegration issue is veteran suicide. As of 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs determined that 20 veterans commit suicide per day in the United States. There are few research studies that examine how veterans who are dealing with severe reintegration difficulties transition from a negative lifestyle, to becoming healthy and mentally whole. This study uses narrative inquiry as a method, analyzing the narratives of nine veterans and their stories of crossing from the Upside Down, to the Right Side Up way of living. Specifically, this study explores how these veterans formed a new identity through pivotal moments of self-realization. By investigating the patterns of communication veterans engage in as they transition to the Right Side Up, this research offers insight about feeling alien, experiencing scrambled communication, battling self and others, locating ground zero, realizing, connecting, transforming, and lingering. The narrative construction of each individual veteran’s narrative reveals the ways they communicate through the difficulties of veteran reintegration as well as communicative strategies that may help future veterans create a healthier life full of purpose and hope. Keywords: Veteran reintegration, suicide, self-medicating, health narrative, communicating purpose
