I was honored to be the first to interview Rita Cosby about her book, “Quiet Hero: Secrets from my Father’s Past”, which will be featured in the June Issue of EP magazine. I was very moved by the book. Having launched a series on traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress in EP’s military section two years ago the subject of her father’s heroism and subsequent struggles with PTSD (not a known disorder at that time) is a subject I’m very passionate about. I was further moved to find out that Rita is generously partnering with the USO on a great and important program to raise funds and support for wounded soldiers. With Memorial Day and Father’s Day, right around the corner, this book is especially poignant.

Ryszard’s revealing traumatic moments from his past to his daughter bring the father and daughter much closer together. After he revisited the pain of his past he felt able to return to his homeland to make peace with his history. It was a very emotional experience for Ryszard and Rita that they will never forget. Rita helped her father reconnect with some survivors of the Warsaw uprising that he never thought he’d see again and her father was honored by the late President Kaczynski of Poland. The experience of sharing his story not only with his daughter and now the world has renewed his soul and spirit. There is no greater father’s day gift that a daughter could bestow than helping him reveal and heal much of his past. Rita is as much his hero as he is hers.