Ankle Deep in Ashes A Smokejumper's Memoir of Depression and PTSD

by Atteberry, Gary

• ISBN13: 9798350993318
• ISBN10: 8350993316
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-04-28
• Publisher: BookBaby

Summary

How does the hero of the fire line become the victim of his own mind?

For twenty years, Gary Atteberry was an elite U.S. Forest Service Smokejumper—parachuting into the heart of wilderness wildfires. He found brotherhood in the air and peace in the great outdoors.

Then the trauma came home.

Ankle Deep in Ashes is the raw memoir of a life nearly destroyed, covering:

*The psychological toll of fighting fires and losing a peer.

*The spiral into high-functioning PTSD and alcohol addiction.

*The choice to seek help and the grueling, honest work of recovery.

*A powerful, modern look at the hidden epidemic of trauma in first responders and veterans.

This is the true story of falling from the sky—and climbing back to life. Scroll up and grab your copy today.

Author Biography

Gary was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and graduated from Oregon State University in the early 1990's. He has enjoyed what the Pacific Northwest has to offer since he was a young boy. Whether he was taking family vacations to Northeast Oregon or solo road trips as an adult, there was always an adventure. Traveling the world and visiting many cultures, Oregon will always be home for Gary. His career has taken him North of the Arctic Circle and to the Southern portions of Australia, all fighting wildfires. An adventure that he dreamed of well before it came true. Gary is now happily retired from the US Forest Service, still living in Oregon and enjoying the outdoors as much as possible.