Heart of a Hawk: One family's sacrifice & journey toward healing
by Deborah H. Tainsh
David and Deborah Tainsh were living the happiest years of their lives until the dark morning of February 12, 2004, when a six a.m. knock at the door brought the news that their son, Sergeant Patrick Tainsh, had been killed in Iraq. Patrick, David’s only child, was the pride of his life. He was the son who overcame a rebellious, drug-addicted youth to become an outstanding U.S. Army Cavalry Scout, posthumously awarded the Bronze and Silver Stars for saving the lives of his commanding officer and other soldiers before succumbing to his own wounds.
In the wake of their loss, David and Deborah battle horrific grief and anger while trying to hold their marriage—and one another—together in an unforgettable journey toward healing. A portion of the proceeds from Heart of a Hawk is donated to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a nonprofit organization that provides grief support to the families of fallen military personnel.
Heart of a Hawk received the Spirit of Freedom Award from Military Writers Society of America.
About the Author
As a mentor for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Deborah talks with military families across the nation, sharing her family's continuing journey of grief, love, and hope while celebrating a son's courageous life with the message that "our children expect no less courage and giving from us than what they showed the world." Deborah’s poems are included in the National Endowment for the Arts archives of Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.
ISBN 0-9657483-8-3
6"x9" paperback
192 pages
BLOOD BROTHERS: Among The Soldiers of Ward 57
Journalist Michael Weisskopf is the senior correspondent for the Washington bureau of Time magazine. In 2003, while on assignment in Baghdad, he threw a live Iraqi grenade from the back of an open Humvee.
He saved himself, four soldiers and Time's photographer, but lost his hand. Weisskopf's new book is Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We Didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
Ronald Reagan 1961