The book that I want to review today is entitled "Tuesday's Promise" written by Luis Carlos Montalvan and Ellis Henican. Those who have read the blog for awhile will recall that I reviewed Luis' first book, "Until Tuesday" on the blog as well.
Luis Montalvan was a captain in the US Army. He was wounded while serving in Iraq Luis did not just have physical wounds from the war, he suffered from PTSD as well. Life wasn't going so well for Luis until a golden retriever service dog came into Luis' life. Tuesday helped Luis to live again.
In "Tuesday's Promise" Luis tells several stories about the battles that veterans had to go through to get the help they needed from the VA. Luis tried, and often succeeded in helping these people. Luis and Tuesday traveled all across the United States sharing their message of hope.
In the book, Luis also writes about his own ongoing physical health battles. Because he was having a great deal of pain in his leg, Luis had to have one of his legs amputated. His recovery from this and his efforts to rebuild his life are related in "Tuesday's Promise."
"Tuesday's Promise" was finished and ready for publication when Luis took his life in late 2016. When I read about this at the time, I was filled with sadness. Tuesday is now living with the people who trained him as a service dog.
I got to meet Luis and Tuesday when they came to a town near where I live to give a presentation. One thing that Luis said that night has stayed with me. He wanted everyone to know that not all disabilities are visible. People struggle everyday with depression, anxiety, PTSD and a host of other problems. These people fight the battle to overcome every single day. We shouldn't be so quick to judge others when we don't really know what is going on in their lives. I know from struggling with depression since my middle teens how true this is.
One thing of great importance the Luis Montalvan contributed to was helping to get the US government to recognize the importance of service dogs for veterans. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota was inspired by Luis and Tuesday, and Senator Franken helped pass legislation to get more service dogs to veterans.
I recommend both "Until Tuesday" and "Tuesday's Promise" to those who enjoy inspiring stories.
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