WELCOME HOME WARZONE

A decorated U.S. Navy psychologist falsely accused of terrorism must navigate an out-of-control local justice system in this memoir.

After several years of counseling veterans suffering from PTSD, Asgaard relocated to his childhood hometown on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He had secured a job there as a clinical psychologist and bought a house still under construction. When it was completed, he moved in with his girlfriend and their new baby girl. But he began feeling unsettled, and his girlfriend was dealing with her own postpartum issues. What Asgaard did not yet recognize was that he, like his patients, was beginning to suffer from PTSD. One night, he and his girlfriend got into what the author describes as a “lukewarm” argument. She called the police, and although the officers noted that Asgaard was a gun owner, they saw no indication of immediate danger. Still, they took him to a hotel for the night to let everyone calm down. During his hotel check-in, the author expansively described his own work and credentials, unknowingly initiating what would turn into a two-year nightmare. The disgruntled check-in clerk, either intentionally or unintentionally twisting Asgaard’s words, reported to the police that he suspected Asgaard of being a terrorist. The next morning, he discovered that the police had confiscated his three guns in the middle of the night—eventually, he was arrested and jailed, and worse was yet to come. This memoir is an articulate and vivid depiction of a justice system gone rogue. The author paints a graphic portrait of life behind bars, provides a comprehensive presentation of PTSD symptoms and experiences, and delivers a passionate indictment of the lack of appropriate treatment for veterans. Asgaard reflects upon the night clerk’s actions: “Maybe my military doctor-speak irritated him that much. Maybe I’d angered and offended him until he saw red”; ironically, that same “military doctor-speak” and repetition of his credentials also appear too often in his otherwise riveting tale of injustice, courage, and vindication.

Disturbing, emotional, highly informative, and triumphant.