{"product_id":"the-war-inside-stephen-castle-9798275850598","title":"The War Inside: Surviving the South African Border War Twice","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe War Inside: Surviving the South African Border War Twice\u003c\/b\u003e is a raw, darkly funny and deeply human memoir of a young South African who went to war at nineteen - and then had to survive it all over again at home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStephen Castle grew up fast after his father died when he was fifteen. School was a blur of bad decisions, fast cars, rugby, rowing and being the \"bad influence\" friend. Then the brown envelope from the South African Defence Force arrived, and life shifted from mischief to mortars.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Potchefstroom basics to the northern border, Castle served as an 81mm mortar observer with 3 SAI and later with 201 Battalion and the Barakwena. He walked long patrols, called in fire missions, and watched friends get hurt and killed. Later, as a Citizen Force soldier, the war came home: desert battle drills at Lohatla, township duty in Soweto, and night operations in places like Mamelodi, where the line between \"enemy\" and \"neighbour\" blurred.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn paper, he came back in one piece. In reality, he brought the war inside with him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt home, his wife and children lived with a man who woke up shouting, patrolled his own house at 2 a.m., exploded in black rages over small things, and then insisted he was \"fine\". Only years later would words like \u003ci\u003etrauma\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePTSD\u003c\/i\u003e enter the conversation - and only because the people who loved him refused to accept his silence as an answer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe War Inside\u003c\/b\u003e is not a political tract or a military history. It is one man's honest account of: \u003cbr\u003eGrowing up in South Africa as the Border War and internal conflict shaped every family in the country. Serving as a young infantryman and mortar observer on the South West African\/Namibian border. Returning as a Citizen Force soldier to face desert exercises, township patrols and night raids on home soil. Marrying his school sweetheart and trying - and often failing - to keep the war out of his marriage and family.\u003c\/p\u003eSlowly recognising the signs of PTSD and learning what it means to seek help and live with the ghosts instead of being driven by them.\u003cp\u003eTold in the first person with dry humour and unflinching clarity, \u003cb\u003eThe War Inside\u003c\/b\u003e will resonate with anyone who has: Served in the military or waited for someone who did. Lived with the invisible wounds of trauma, anger and nightmares. Wondered why some wars end on paper long before they end in a person's head.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you are interested in the South African Border War, SADF conscription, life as a national serviceman, or the long shadow of PTSD on marriage and fatherhood, this memoir offers a candid, unsentimental and ultimately hopeful story of what it really means to come home twice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephen Castle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798275850598\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/26\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 120\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.25d","brand":"Stephen Castle","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48089486852351,"sku":"9798275850598","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_a148e69a-d9ff-4bc6-b939-f6dc94dc1272.jpg?v=1769110568","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-war-inside-stephen-castle-9798275850598","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}