A Vietnam veteran who says he exorcised the demons of his war experiences by writing about them, will be hosting a book signing on Saturday at Ambrosia Books in Sanborn.
The event, being held in conjunction with Veteran’s Day, will take place from 1-3 p.m. at the store at 5837 Buffalo St.
Douglas Bergman, author of “Names I Can’t Remember,” will talk about the impact his Vietnam War experiences had upon his life after he returned to the United States.
“I was a recovering alcoholic, struggling from post traumatic stress disorder,” said Bergman. “It was all tied back to people I met and incidents that occurred in Vietnam that were quite troubling. The only way I could heal was to publicly hurt.”
The vet chronicled his war stories in a gritty, surreal retelling that includes the killing of a young Vietnamese boy thought to be a spy.
After that experience, “I do not remember the next week, I stayed drunk trying to forget,” he said recently during a telephone interview.
“I can remember all the faces of the drama but none of the names,” he recalled, explaining the title of his book. The book’s subtitle is: “An Assassin Confesses.”
Author Robert Vaughan writes in the book’s prelude that: “If you are a veteran, be prepared to be jerked back to a time and place that, if you are honest with yourself, is the watershed of your life.”
Bergman’s writing, laced with profanities and violence, has been compared to author Jack Kerouac, and called “gut wrenching.”
Bergman is now a veteran activist and travels the country talking with veterans, encouraging them to share their war experiences.
“The nut of the problem is they (the vets) still don't talk about it,” he said. “I tell them you have to find a place or person to take the agony to because strong wears out.”
Bergman’s book was of interest to Christina Ambrosia, a Sanborn mother-of-four, who owns Ambrosia’s Books. “My father was in Vietnam,” said Ambrosia, “and people my age, I don’t think we understand that war. Doug’s book is a story about what went on there.”
For more information on the book signing or other book store events visit ambrosiasbooks.com or call 216-4444.
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