Kevin_Ivison

Red One has had its first review; The Literary Review says: ?the author of the gripping memoir Red One...tells it superbly...Ivison ? who this book proves to be a gifted writer as well as a genuine hero ? draws out the tension of this nightmarish scene...that literally left me sweating in terror.? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0297860550?tag=keviivis-21&camp=2902&creative=19466&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=0297860550&adid=1FDQCFPHCD43M81219E8&

Thanks all for the PMs - I have replied to each individually but it is great to see people so supportive of this project and Help4Heroes. Kevin

Dear Felt-Tip, Thank you, Red One is published on August 19, will be serialised in the Mail on Sunday on Aug 16 and the feature of a Channel 4 News piece on Monday 17 August. I really hope you enjoy Red One - its as honest as I could make it and, in addition to having lots of action, if covers a lot of the less glamorous aspects of warfare: I don't think any other book been as open about issues like fear (which I certainly experienced a great deal of), heroism (which I saw an awful lot of) and PTSD (which is still very much part of my life). Thanks once again, Kevin

Dear Narnia, Not patronising at all - the book really explores how PTSD affected me and - I hope(!) - should increase the public conversation on this subject. If it encourages people like you to ask people like my about our experiences then I will be utterly delighted. Oddly enough though, it did not help at all! I found the writing process (the book was largely written Feb-April 2009) not cathartic in the least - in fact, if anything, it made my symptoms worse. I think talking about events in Iraq has always been incredible helpful to me - but sitting in a room on my own for hours each day, locked inside my own mind, was exceptionally destructive. Kevin

Dear all, In addition to being a fellow resident of Dulwich, I'm a first-time author whose first book, Red One: A Bomb Disposal Expert on the Front Line, is published on 19 August this year. Red One is a memoir of my time as a counter-terrorist bomb disposal operator (ATO) in Iraq, focussing on a single action (for which I was later awarded the George Medal) and how PTSD affected me for a number of years afterwards. Here is the blurb: This is the gripping true story of a young bomb disposal officer and his terrifying experiences in Iraq facing daily rocket attacks and terrorist bombs. When two of his colleagues are killed by a roadside bomb, Kevin Ivison is called in to defuse a second even deadlier bomb just a hundred yards from the bodies of his friends. To make things worse, the entire area is under fire from snipers, and a crowd of angry Iraqis have begun to hurl petrol bombs... With little chance of living through this impossible task, Kevin leaves final messages for his loved ones and sets out alone towards the bomb that he is sure will be the last thing he sees. In this gut-wrenching tale of heroism and survival, Kevin Ivison explains why he chose to be a bomb disposal expert in the first place, how he found the courage to face his death, and the unendurable stress that has given him nightmares ever since Please take a look at Red One on Amazon. If you order the book through the link below, you will also be supporting Help4Heroes - I will donate every penny of Amazon commission to that incredible cause. Here is the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0297860550?ie=UTF8&tag=keviivis-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0297860550%22%3E%3Cimg Thank you, Kevin Ivison