Bergen Man's New Thriller Gives A Raw Look At Military Life

RAMSEY, NJ — Alex Neely knows what it is like to serve in the military. A new book he wrote gives an unflinching look at the effect serving in the military could have on someone.

Neely, a Ramsey resident, wrote a book about military life entitled "Our Father." The work of fiction centers around John Rockford, a U.S. Army veteran who leaves the service with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

"He attempts to get back into civilian life and the book shows the difficulties of that transition," Neely said.

Rockford, his wife, and daughter move to a new town. His daughter goes missing and Rockford knows what happened to her, but because of his PTSD, people doubt his understanding of reality.

"John essentially attempts to go about proving whether his assumption is correct or not," Neely said.

It is that adapting to civilian life that Neely said veterans often struggle with.

"It is a shared voice that many veterans have upon transitioning to civilian life. It is usually one that hides in the dark and shadows and one that no one really wants to let out," said Neely. "The goal of the book is to spotlight the often many times, forcibly hidden, aspects of the military. It is raw. It is visceral and disturbing as much as a true military experience could leave a veteran sometimes."

Neely served five years in the Army, from 2011 to 2016. He was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. He was deployed to several countries in the Middle East twice.

"I would love if veterans read this book. I think all veterans can relate to it," Neely said. "It would make me extremely happy if this book could help anybody."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com