American American

I have a new book being published and want to begin a project to create an audiobook.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, just over 30,000 veterans have died by suicide — four times more than the number of U.S. military personnel who have died in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. My 83,000-word debut memoir, American Airman, is an unflinching look at one veteran’s life. Like Jake Wood’s Once a Warrior, American Airman is about a transitioning veteran channeling his pain into a new life purpose. Unlike Once a Warrior, though, it tells a more complete life story, from a veteran’s adolescence and enlistment in the Air Force, to a near fatal injury while serving on active-duty, and then through his difficult transition back into civilian life.
Meet Ryan Cureton, a young African American man at the cusp of adulthood. His childhood was a tumultuous fight to stay afloat in a toxic home. When his academic scholarship to college runs out, he must choose: will he stay under the reigns of abusive parents, or strike out and forge a new path for himself in the military? Ryan ultimately joins the Air Force, where he serves with distinction, until he is seriously injured overseas. Now medically retired from service and dealing with the lingering effects of a severe traumatic brain injury, Ryan finds his unlikely healing in the world of theatre, first as an usher, and later, as an award-winning playwright.
American Airman is a story of vulnerability, resiliency, and hope that will particularly appeal to America’s 2.9 million Wounded Warriors. No veteran returns the same as when they first enlisted. More often than not, the scars and wounds go unseen and the battle doesn’t end at discharge: according to VA statistics, every day, 23 veterans take their own lives. Ryan’s story bears witness to the men and women who, in fighting for our rights and freedoms, make unimaginable sacrifices and, then, must search for that elusive “new “normal” after sacrifice becomes reality. It grapples with several issues that are regularly covered by the media, including mental health, veteran health care, and the impact of a recovering veteran on their family.
My name is Jonathon “Jack-Jack” Benjamin and I am a proud veteran of the US Air Force. I earned a B.A. in Theatre with a minor in Creative Writing from George Washington University. I also have received honors as a playwright from the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Dramatist Guild of America. The Saga of an American Airman is based on my life and true events; I was indeed injured overseas while on active duty and spent 3 years in hospital care before being medically retired from the Air Force in 2015. In forging a new life for myself, I decided, among many other things, to change my name to Jonathon Benjamin in 2017.
Being a Wounded Warrior has its benefits. I am a lifetime member of the Air Force Association, the Air Force’s Wounded Warrior Program (AFW2) and the Wounded Warrior Project. The veteran following of these organizations is such that bulk sales can be negotiated as well as marketing strategies for their members. I am also a part of the Dramatist Guild of America and I have regular contact with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Walter Reed is the seat of the wounded warrior recovery process. The sheet number of veterans at the medical center gives immeasurable potential for sales and promotion of this book. The manuscript complete, formatted and available upon request.