Empty Open Hands: A Survivor’s Story is a true story of the trials, tribulations, and traumas the author, and his mother and siblings, suffered at the hands of his father as a child, and through the hell of war as an adult. It is also a story of triumph, which provides hope to victims of mental, emotional and physical abuse, and shows that it’s possible to do more than just survive the vicious, and often generational, cycles of abuse that infect so many families. It teaches that, although we cannot avoid adversity, we can decide whether we will let it defeat, us define us or direct us toward higher ground. The author made a life-altering decision early in life to stop the cycle of abuse, and shares his strategies for changing the dynamic from surviving to thriving. He believes, and convincingly demonstrates, that anyone can survive the cauldrons of domestic hell and the tragedies of war.