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Continue reading →: PTSD vs. Starbucks Line: Guess Who WonFresh out of rehab and newly sober, I learned something the hard way: PTSD doesn’t care that you’re trying to heal. It doesn’t care that you’ve got a chip in your pocket, a therapist in your corner, and a brave little plan called exposure therapy. Put me in a crowded…
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Continue reading →: Eight Years Later: Living With Suicide Loss, Grief, and November 6thGrief doesn’t punch a clock — and eight years after losing my mother to suicide on November 6th, it still hits like a freight train. This isn’t a neat healing story; it’s about living with suicide loss, memory, and the quiet ache that follows you long after condolences fade. If…
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Continue reading →: Living With PTSD: When a Simple Injury Becomes a FlashbackWe like to pretend we’re made of iron and lessons learned, but the truth is we’re stitched together with memory — and memory doesn’t always ask permission before it shows up. One minute I was standing in a Halloween maze, laughing with friends and watching people get the fright of…
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Continue reading →: Autumn Nostalgia: The Magic of the ‘Ber MonthsNostalgia: that old lover who knows all your buttons and exactly how to tickle them. A lens we gaze through with fondness and whimsy. The warm breath of comfort that comes from staring backwards at what once was. Sure, there are endless debates about nostalgia — was it really as…
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Continue reading →: Notes from Greece 2025: Travelogue from Athens to RhodesFrom wandering Athens’ cracked streets to Rhodes’ medieval walls, these personal notes capture food, culture, history, and unexpected moments of love under the Greek sun.
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Continue reading →: Seven Years Sober: Reflections on Recovery, Love, and Hitting the Milestone in GreeceSeven years. That’s what the math says. Seven laps around the sun without pouring another single malt glass of gasoline on the fire in my head. And here’s the kicker — I’m going to hit that milestone in Greece. Sun-bleached stones, family around me, and the kind of blue water…
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Continue reading →: Why You Shouldn’t Always Trust Your Gut — And How to Actually Listen to Your BodyWhat was it our parents used to say? Ah, yes — “Always trust your gut. It’ll never steer you wrong.” Well, I call bullshit. My gut has steered me wrong plenty of times.Taco Bell cravings at 3:00 a.m. after a night out; six old fashioneds deep, a handful of stale…
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Continue reading →: Flying with PTSD: Why Airports Trigger My Anxiety (and Why I’m Still Boarding for Greece)There’s a particular kind of dread that comes with airports. It’s not just the bad coffee, the overpriced sandwiches, or the way people suddenly forget how to walk in a straight line when they see a “Gate 14 →” sign. No, for me it’s something deeper, a low-grade hum in…
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Continue reading →: The CBC, Rebel News, and the Erosion of Public Trust in Canadian JournalismI’m not a fan of Rebel News. Let’s start there, so no one gets the wrong idea. I don’t align with their tactics, their tone, or their vision of what journalism is supposed to be. I find their work abrasive, often inflammatory, and more about emotional conflagration than informing. They’re…
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Continue reading →: Paramedic Night Shift Confession: The 3AM Emergency Call That Led to a Wall of Vintage PornThere are moments in life where you feel like you’ve stumbled into someone else’s dream. Or nightmare, depending on the situation. Maybe a fever-induced hallucination stitched together by William S. Burroughs and scored by Beck. This was one of those moments. 03:45 in the goddamn morning. That’s the hour when…
Hello,
I’m Matthew
Welcome to the official blog of Matthew Heneghan — author of A Medic’s Mind and Woven in War, and host of the trauma-focused podcast Unwritten Chapters.
As a former Canadian Armed Forces medic and civilian paramedic, I’ve lived through the raw edges of trauma, addiction, grief, and healing. Through honest storytelling and lived experience, I write and speak about PTSD, trauma recovery, mental health awareness, and resilience — especially from the lens of veterans and first responders.
If you’re searching for real-life stories of overcoming adversity, the effects of service-related trauma, or insight into the recovery process after hitting rock bottom — you’re in the right place. My goal is to foster connection through shared experience, break stigma, and offer hope.
Explore the blog, tune into the podcast, and discover how writing became a lifeline — and might just become yours, too.
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Author Matthew Heneghan 