Veterans: Debbie Sprague "A Stranger in my Bed" Affects of PTSD on marriage

Debbie Sprague is the author of bestseller “A Stranger in My Bed: 8 Steps to Taking Your Life Back from the Contagious Effects of Your Veteran’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is also an Elizabeth Dole Foundation Fellow alumnus, and the Education and Training Manager for the Military and Veteran Caregiver Network.

Debbie is a Board Certified Life Coach, specializing in wellness and life solutions for military and veteran caregivers. She is a Recreation Therapist, and holds a Community College Teaching Credential in Health and Physical Care Services.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation, with a minor in psychology, graduating with honors from California State University (CSU), Chico. She also pursued postgraduate work in gerontology at CSU, Chico, and University of Southern California (USC), Percy Andrus Gerontology Center.

Debbie has personally experienced the challenges of caregiving during her son’s losing battle with cancer, caring for her late mother-in-law, and today caring for both her aging parents and her husband. In 2004, Debbie’s husband, a Vietnam veteran was diagnosed with complications from exposure to Agent Orange and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Life dramatically changed for them, and in 2006, Debbie was also diagnosed with PTSD.

Debbie served on the focus committee for the National VA Caregiver Peer Support Mentoring Program, an advisory group member for MOAA-Zieders – Tips for Lifelong Caregiving (TLC): A Financial-Legal Planning Guide for Military Caregivers. She was an active volunteer with Family of a Vet, serving as director/host of their Blog Talk Radio Show Radio: Caregiver Edition, Life after Combat with PTSD and TBI, which was selected for, broadcast worldwide on the Armed Forces Radio Network. .She is currently serving on the PsychArmor Caregiver Consultants Advisory Committee.