The Long Road Home...

"This is the story of thousands of American soldiers, and it is also the tale of B.D."
— U.S. Senator John McCain

The battlefields of Iraq are places where thousands of U.S. soldiers have gone in America's name to endure shattering losses that have upended and forever changed their lives. Such was the case for B.D. — husband, father, former football star, National Guardsman and longtime Doonesbury character.

B.D. lost a leg in Fallujah in April 2004 and spent several months rehabilitating his body and spirit before going home the following Christmas. The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $9.95) collects the first seven months of Doonesbury strips about B.D.'s journey. It follows B.D. from Bagdad triage through hospital treatments, awkward visits from friends, agonizing exercise regimens and gatherings with his fellow amputees. The Long Road Home also depicts the anxiety of B.D.'s family and friends, who support him by staying at a Fisher House — an actual non-profit organization operated by Fisher House Foundation, which gives housing to families of soldiers receiving treatment at major military hospitals. Trudeau is donating all royalties from The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time's sale to the Fisher House Foundation.

Published at the request of Fisher House for patients and their caregivers, The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time is a tribute to soldiers. Here Trudeau sets aside politics and his opposition to the Iraq War — to portray the immense impact combat has on an individual soldier's life. He researched the B.D. storyline at Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he visited wounded soldiers and amputees. As Trudeau says, "Whether you think we belong in Iraq or not, we can't tune it out; we have to remain mindful of the terrible losses that individual soldiers are suffering in our name."

The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time includes a foreword written by U.S. Senator John McCain, who writes, "Trudeau tells the story of B.D. — and the Fisher House — and he does it very, very well. Biting but never cynical, and often wickedly funny, these comic strips will make you laugh, reflect and — in the end — understand. Like B.D., the thousands of soldiers who have left their health or their limbs on the battlefield have done so in the service of all of us. These brave men and women astonish us all with their spirit. In sacrificing themselves, they sacrifce for us."

About the Author
G.B. Trudeau, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1975, created Doonesbury 35 years ago. Now tracking its seventh presidential administration, Doonesbury appears in 1,400 newspapers worldwide. Trudeau lives in Manhattan and maintains his Web presence, updated daily, at www.doonesbury.com

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Contact: Kathy Hilliard, (800) 851-8923, ext. 7497, khilliard@amuniversal.com

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The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time

Author: G.B. Trudeau
ISBN: 0-7407-5385-1
Format: Paperback: 6 x 8 1/4, 96 pages
Price: $9.95 ($14.95 Canada)