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Continue reading →: The Crazy Things We Did To Skip School (And Get Away With It!).By the time I had entered Jr. High, my adolescent brain was in full delinquent free-fall! I wanted to skip class, throw rocks at freight trains, chug beer and stay up all night! And my friends and I did our very best (or worst, depending how you choose to look…
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Continue reading →: The Child’s Fear of the Dark: A Normal Part of Development? What About at 39?As a child, fear of the dark is a widely accepted normalcy of urchin development. A seeming right of passage, one could say. We, adults, generally assuage this unease by turning on a night light, or leaving the door open just a bit. All of this angst is considered age…
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Continue reading →: The Nightmare: Living With Nightmares And The Hope Of Being Free From Them.There’s this dream that I have… I’m in a hallway, at the end of this baron corridor there is an unremarkable door lurking ajar. I know that I am supposed to go there, so on I walk, but something in me does not want to. There’s an ominous foreboding clinging…
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Continue reading →: My Top Gun Experience: A Review Of The Film And What It Means To Me.It was late at night, and I was the only one in the room. A beer that had fallen to neglect sat warming on my nightstand to my right. My head hung low in weighted contemplation, thoughts dragging my posture down. I’d been in the army for a little over…
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Continue reading →: A Savoury Little PostThis afternoon, around lunch time, I had the pleasure of stopping in for a bite at the Cactus Club on Banks Rd. Upon entry my eyes were greeted with sleek, elegant decor, where modern, impressionistic wall-art meets with stylish stone features and wooden accents. A subtle croon of upbeat jazz…
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Continue reading →: How I Learned To Be Grateful For The Little Things In Life.I was sitting in my backyard this morning, dew still clung to the shaded bits of grass, the sun began crawling upward from behind the mountains. A warm caramel glaze saturated the pines on the hillside. It was a peaceful scene. The dogs were playing and jostling in the emerging…
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Continue reading →: Remembering D-Day, June 6th 1944To those that have, to those that do, and to those that will… Today is June 6. A date that can easily slip past during the bustle of modern life, but a date of meaningful significance nonetheless. Some 78 years ago a little over 14,000 brave and trembling Canadians embarked…
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Continue reading →: How I Survive Mondays When I Wake Up From A Nightmare With PTSD.“And that’s exactly what I will do for the remainder of this week — my best — my best to push out the negative, invite the supportive, the warmth and compassion of love from others and self. ”
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Continue reading →: The Tragic Reality of Homelessness And PTSD: How They Impact Each OtherToday, today I find myself standing beneath the drench of a falling sky… no concern for the chill entering my bones. I believe it was Mr. Cash that once crooned, “that old familiar sting…”
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Continue reading →: What Makes a Good Best Friend?“As he drove, the coniferous landscape raced by from outside our windows. But as if to be cognizant performers, the emerald pines seemingly slowed down when they observed our gaze. It was a beautiful drive. My kind of weather — overcast and rainy — I loved it. Every single second.”
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 