In Heroes are Human: Lessons in Resilience, Courage and Wisdom from
the COVID Front Lines, we read gripping first-hand accounts by those
thrust into the depths of the crisis.
This book is a must-read for health care workers who have been besieged
by the ongoing pandemic, for those who love them, and for any reader
wanting to gain a deeper understanding of their immense sacrifices and
struggles. Heroes are Human also offers invaluable self-care insights
in the face of trauma. The book's central voice and guide, Bob Delaney,
is an internationally respected and experienced figure in the field of
post-traumatic stress. His powerful message to front-line caregivers is
that they are not alone.
Delaney, along with co-author and award-winning journalist Dave
Scheiber, published Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob (Sterling
Publishing, 978-1-4027-5442-2, Hardcover, 2008; 978-1-4027-6714-2, trade
paper, 2009) and Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into
Post-traumatic Stress (Sourcebooks, 978-1-4022-6355-2, 2011).
Covert is the true story of Delaney's undercover life in a landmark
1970s Mafia investigation, dubbed "Project Alpha," for which he risked
his life wearing a wire as a young New Jersey State Trooper, taking on a
new identity as a mob associate. He also writes about his overcoming
PTSD through the sport of basketball, and career as an elite NBA
referee.
Surviving the Shadows tells the stories of brave men and women whose
lives were plunged into despair by post-traumatic stress but who learned
to cope, with Delaney's help, by sharing their struggles with others who
underwent similar trauma.
For more than a quarter of a century, Delaney was a fixture as a referee
on the hardwood courts of the National Basketball Association (NBA). But
what Delaney did--and has done--off the courts defines his true
legacy: It is his less visible, life-saving work of the last four
decades, helping active members and veterans of the U.S. armed forces,
law enforcement, fire fighters, and first responders--the often
under-appreciated heroes who put their lives on the line for the rest of
us every day--cope with the devastating effects of post-traumatic
stress.
Delaney comes by his healing wisdom from hard-won experience. He learned
about PTSD first-hand, developing the condition after emerging from his
grueling and prolonged undercover work. Helping others suffering from
the debilitating effects of post-traumatic has been a driving force in
his life.
Former President Barack Obama and senior-ranking military leaders have
honored Delaney for his contributions to PTSD awareness--stemming from
his multiple visits with U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States.
In addition, Delaney was twice awarded the U.S. Army Outstanding
Civilian Service Medal, presented by General Raymond T. Odierno (retired
U.S. Army Chief of Staff) and Four-Star General (ret.) Robert W. Cone.
In 2020, the NCAA bestowed its highest honor on him: the Theodore
Roosevelt Award, previously given four U.S. presidents (Dwight
Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan). More
recently, Delaney has become deeply involved with the prestigious
Harvard Global Mental Health initiative, which focuses on traumas and
psychological burdens experienced throughout the world.
