I fought in the Iraq invasion in 2003. The battle for An Nasiriyah was the first major engagement of the war. It was bad.

Fast forward to 2016: At the time I was undergoing residential ptsd treatment at the Veterans hospital here in the states. We were on a daytime "exposure treatment" trip to the bookstore (I had isolated myself to the point of not leaving my apartment for 2 years) and I was looking to get back into fantasy after a long hiatus. I stood in the aisle for about an hour trying to find the right book. I kept coming back to one.

When I first picked up Way of Kings in the bookstore I didn't know who Brandon Sanderson was. All I knew was that the rear cover description mentioned leadership and war and I was a former Marine Sergeant and combat veteran. I bought Way of Kings not knowing how profoundly impacted my life would be as a result.

I don't remember much of my life during the 2 years leading up to my hospitalization. I remember alot of crying. A lot of questions. A lot of pain. Hundreds of thousands "God please help me's" . And a lot of loneliness. I decided to get help and moved into the VA.

Then I met Kaladin. And Dalinar. Renarin, Adolin, Wit. Syl, Pattern. The Stormfather.

This book got me through that hospitalization. Then I got Words of Radiance and was convinced of Sanderson's literary genius. While waiting for Oathbringer I was starting to slip again. Then last year I hospitalized myself for the second time. My gf at the time brought me OB while I was in. And Dalinar changed my life. While Kal's moment was closer to my heart at the time, "You cannot have my pain!" brought me to tears and does so even now as I type this.

It's very difficult to articulate how much these books mean to me personally because of how much of myself I see in Kal, Dalinar, and even Wit. I've never read such a vividly accurate account of battle and war and men. My life has paralleled Kals in so many ways, then evolved into Dalinar's with OB. I wish I could express it to you all better.

My flair says Windrunner because I was forged as fodder on Bridge 4 in 2003. I will always be a Windrunner at heart but as my treatment, professional experience, and life go on, I'm becoming a Bondsmith. When the time is right I will change my flair.

I'm out of the hospital now and doing better than I have in 8 years. I have a new gf and and holding down a simple job. I've got a ways to go but I cherish the Stormlight Archive and (after reading all the rest of his published work) Sanderson has become my favorite author of all time.

Tldr; I just want to say thank you to Brandon Sanderson for literally changing and playing a part in saving my life. His examples are those I had forgotten, and he brought them flooding back. Along with hope. And thanks to all of you for this sub and the constant reminder I have of the Words, and the companionship of my fellow Rosharans. 😉 Sincerely, thank you all.

Edit: fixed some typos, would like to add many thanks. You people are awesome 👍 I'm going to post a proper thank you once I get off work and can collect my thoughts.

Edit 2 and most importantly: thanks for all the love. r/fantasy has some 'interesting' points of view but you guys are all extremely awesome. I need to clarify here that although "you cannot have my pain" is the moment I quoted here it is not the most profound moment for me. I only use that line for reference because I've seen a lot of us identify with it. It's become cliche at this point which is why this is an ode to 'commonly held beliefs.' someone on r/fantasy says it was hard to feel bad for someone who perpetuaed a 'cult of death' but that comment just proves a) they didn't read the books and b) that they're ignorant of anyone out in my position. In my defense someone commented 'Kal was a slave soldier so it's different.' I say it's not. Kal's heart was broken by Amaram. His honorable view of soldiers and war was destroyed by the inhumanity of horrible leaders. Maybe also by carrying out orders that he only later realized were morally compromised. Like I said, my life parallels these characters in many ways. Sorry for venting this here when it should be on r/fantasy. And thanks to all of you just for being you. I know it's just a book, and Sanderson is just a man. He's not even a veteran. But he nailed this. These books touch me. Like they do us all. Thanks again.