They say the truth can set you free, but sometimes it can also help you understand things are too hard to put into words.

"I was watching the news during a layover in Germany after we'd brought wounded warriors to the hospital and was just stunned at how different it was from what I was actually experiencing," said retired Capt. Ed Hrivnak.

Hrivnak, who served in the Air Force Nursing Corps during the initial Iraq invasion and was deployed as part of the first wave of troops, began writing about his experiences and sending them to family and friends at home as a way to comprehend what he was seeing. His stories and recounts of transporting the wounded got passed around and he even began receiving fan mail and being interviewed by Stars and Stripes.

"It wasn't because I was an expert writer or had a degree in literature, but I was speaking from the heart and people appreciated that," he said.

Hrivnak had published multiple short stories over the last decade about his experiences caring for soldiers and had also allowed some of his journals to be used in the 2007 Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.

His new book, entitled Wounded, A Legacy of Operation Iraqi Freedom, compiles all of his stories into one complete book that also features behind the scenes details that look at the strain of caring for these men and women.

At the time of his 2003 deployment, Hrvinak had been in the military, on both active-duty and as a reservist, for 16 years and had deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm in 1990.

"I was also working as a trauma nurse in my civilian job, yet all of that did not prepare me for the new level of warfare, the injuries I'd see and the advances in medicine that would keep these men alive," he stated.

"I hope this book can help other healthcare providers, military and their families and the wounded can see that their experience is not completely unique - there are a lot of others who are enduring the same things and caring for loved ones who have gone through it."

Wounded also focuses on the life of a reservist and the transition from downrange and then back again to civilian life.

The Garfield Book Company will host a book signing party for Wounded from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12.

Hrivnak, who continues to help others in his current job as the assistant fire chief for Central Pierce Fire & Rescue, will keep on giving back by donating 10 percent of the book's sales to the Washington-based nonprofit Heartbeat, Serving Wounded Warriors.

To purchase Hrivnak's book, you can visit Garfield Book Company, Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

WOUNDED, A LEGACY OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM BOOK SIGNING, 6-9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12, Garfield Book Company, 208 Garfield St. S., Tacoma, 252.535.7665