A Florida veteran is taking to the page to help other military members.
Spencer Wainright could talk about his time in the U.S. Navy for hours.
"We blew up a town that they told us to take out, and it came back that they were friendlies," he told WJAX.
The stories and experiences have consequences.
Wainright said he turned to alcohol for relief from PTSD.
"I didn't sleep at night," Wainright said. “I had terrifying dreams."
Then he started writing about his volunteer work with Putnam Fire Rescue.
Now, he has turned those stories into a novel entitled "GOTCHA!!!"
The book is aimed at helping other military members.
"I'm reaching out with this book because I'm saying to them 'I can do it, I did it,'" Wainright told WJAX.
The book isn't the only way Wainright is attempting to help.
He has made and distributed hundreds of whistles to fellow veterans, so they can alert people if they're in danger and contact someone when experiencing an emotional crisis.
"If that helps in any way, I've made my day. I've done what I'm supposed to do," Wainright said.
More than 6,000 veterans committed suicide each year from 2008 to 2016, according to data from the Department of Veteran Affairs.
"I've got to save one of them, anyway. It's too much of a tragedy. I know where they are, and I want to pull them back out. I just can't let that happen," Wainright said.
It's not just an important part of his own story. Wainright believes it's his mission.
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