University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Invisible Storm
Book

Invisible Storm

A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD

Jason Kander
Mariner Books, 2022
Buy book or audiobook

Read or listen offline

Amazon Kindle
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Engaging
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Jason Kander’s remarkable military and political career could have led him to write a more traditional, potentially less authentic, bestseller. Instead, his second memoir – following his bestselling autobiography Outside the Wire – is a vulnerable page-turner about the ravages of post-traumatic stress disorder, which he developed during his military service in Afghanistan. Despite his rapid political ascent, PTSD haunted Kander for more than a decade. Finally, on the verge of suicide, he walked away from a successful political career to seek treatment. His hard-won insights chart a path for leaders to reach their potential by prioritizing honest self-appraisal, self-development and stress management.

Summary

Jason Kander struggled with PTSD while navigating his rise in politics.

Jason Kander held a solid lead in the 2018 race for mayor of Kansas City when he walked into a Veterans Affairs medical center and requested help. Asked if he had suicidal thoughts, Kander said yes. Once he was admitted to the psychiatric treatment ward, Kander confessed to more than a decade of crippling PTSD symptoms and announced he would drop out of the mayoral race the next day.

Kander gathered strength from his family and his wife, Diana, whom he’d married in their second year at the prestigious Georgetown Law School. He and Diana bonded over their mutual determination to serve society and make positive changes in the world. She supported him throughout his time in Afghanistan, grueling political campaigns, and recovery from PTSD.

Few people of Kander’s socioeconomic status joined the military.

Harboring a “vague notion” that military service would benefit his résumé, Kander signed up for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in 2002 and joined the Maryland National Guard. He embraced a challenging course load in law school...

About the Author

Following a high-profile career as an army intelligence officer, lawyer, and politician, Jason Kander now dedicates himself to serving veterans and Afghan evacuees.

Comment on this summary