From Combat to Composition

Published November 8th, 2024 at 11:18 am, Last Updated November 25th, 2024 at 12:09 pm

Jim Tritten, a retired veteran and academic scholar from Corrales , has taken on a new mission: to lead a veterans’ writing group that harnesses the power of storytelling to confront and heal from trauma.

Every Thursday at the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Albuquerque, veterans in the writing therapy group transform their traumatic experiences into written stories, finding support in a safe, understanding space.

“The theory is, and it works, that if you take a trauma and you talk about it enough, or you write about it enough, and you do it over and over and over again, eventually it just becomes another memory, and it doesn’t cause angst,” Tritten said. “Angst being daytime, intrusive thoughts, nighttime, bad dreams. Those are all typical symptoms that can be helped with writing. The VA believes in it thoroughly, I believe in it because I can see it working.”  

Tritten is a retired Navy Commander with 44 years of service, including as a carrier-based aviator, and he holds a PhD and chaired the National Security Affairs department at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is a recipient of 79 writing awards, having published 13 books and over 400 works, with translations in Russian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

According to Tritten, all VA hospitals offer recreation therapy programs that include subsets of both physical activities and creative writing. The writing program is designed to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, by giving them an outlet for self-expression, offering a sense of relief and connection through writing.

“When my diagnosis came around with PTSD, I realized what I could do to help people process and how to heal,” Tritten said.

During each two-hour session, veterans take turns reading a piece of their writing to about a dozen fellow participants. According to Tritten, they receive feedback and sometimes the group delves into deeper discussions if the material resonates with others.

Tritten encourages veterans to enrich their stories by incorporating sensory details and refining their writing. He often suggests they start with familiar stories, such as those told at family gatherings, or unique memories. He said this makes writing feel more approachable and helps boost self-expression.

To inspire veterans, Tritten said he sometimes brings in his wife, Jasmine, whose first memory — a harrowing experience of Nazi stormtroopers in occupied Denmark who were going door to door looking for hidden Jewish people — illustrates the deep impact of trauma on memory. Her story gives the veterans a perspective on the impact of conflict from the other side and serves as an effective example of how sharing difficult memories through writing can be both therapeutic and enlightening. This method allows veterans to reflect on their experiences, confront difficult memories and find ways to express themselves without judgment.

The group is not led by a therapist but by volunteers, including Kathy Hopkins, who facilitate, encourage and offer feedback. They provide guidance, advice and support to veterans of all abilities.

“We have a 96-year-old veteran in our group who is legally blind and he writes every single day by talking into his computer. He then sends it to Kathy Hopkins and she fixes it,” Tritten said. 

Tritten said the group hopes to provide two key benefits to veterans. 

First, he says, writing helps “keep the monkey brain” at bay — the restless part of the mind that can lead to negative thought spirals. By focusing on organizing thoughts and channeling energy into writing, veterans can gain a sense of control and avoid unproductive mental loops. 

Secondly, he said, the more veterans write about their experiences, the more these memories gradually lose their intensity, eventually becoming something manageable rather than “something you’re not even willing to confront anymore.”

For veterans who are hesitant about joining the group, Tritten suggests reading some pieces others have written to see how they have been able to use writing to their advantage. 

“I try to take things that are nice and easy and that you can make fun of as just a way to get started,” Tritten said. “Don’t go tackle War and Peace or something really heavy. Unless you think you can do it. Otherwise, just take it easy. Write something you could make funny.” 

Tritten’s Upcoming Projects and Plans

In the future, Tritten said he will continue to support veterans’ creative writing, helping with a new anthology project for veterans and their caregivers. 

This follows the success of “Holes in Our Hearts,” a book produced by SouthWest Writers and funded by New Mexico Arts. It featured 55 New Mexicans, including several first-time published authors, and Tritten is now recruiting more veterans to share their stories.

Additionally, Tritten and his wife, Jasmine, are working on a new project, “Around the World in 80 Years”. Unlike Jules Verne’s fictional race against time, their book will be a travelog recounting their global journeys over the past 80 years, with an unexpected conclusion.

When it comes to Tritten’s writing, he is currently two-thirds of the way through a mystery trilogy set in the Rio Puerco. While the first two books are completed and copyrighted, he plans to release all three books together. In addition, he is working on a historical fiction novella.

Tritten’s earlier academic works, including Soviet Naval Forces And Nuclear Warfare and Reconstituting America’s Defense: The New U.S. National Security Strategy are available at the University of New Mexico library, while his post-retirement writings are housed at the Corrales library. These include Holes in Our Hearts, which is also available at public libraries across New Mexico. 

For information about the VA group

Veterans interested in the program can contact Cat Ivie, Recreation Specialist, at the New Mexico VA Healthcare System’s Raymond G. Murphy Medical Center by calling 505-366-2030.