Paula Braun

In Baghdad we all had a call-sign. Mine was The Librarian. #BaghdadLibrarian is a micro-#memoir, tweeted one sentence or so at a time, for 100 days.

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

Stop punishing yourself and start acting like you're worthy of love and respect. #TMOY

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

Don't wait for perfect. It's a trap and not worth the strife. #TMOY

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

@CarolBraun thanks! Writing 100 consecutive tweets was more challenging than I thought it would be, but I'm glad I did it :-)

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I just published “Choose the Unfamiliar” https://t.co/lY3iA5P0pp

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I just published “Emotional Baggage” https://t.co/WP9pwWgZ9V

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I just published “The Adaptive Unconscious” https://t.co/oSGv35zM2u

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I just published “Keep Playing” https://t.co/sdHkkFkJIL

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I just published “Don’t Turn a Bad Day Into a Bad Week” https://t.co/kGdv9z247a

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I just published “Emotional Scripts” https://t.co/F7SWYxkMvc

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

https://t.co/cOfMVs8x6n

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

Now when someone asks "What was it like?" I'll say, "A mix of Vulnerability, Acceptance, and Love." #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

It got worse b4 it got better. I learned to stop following the irrepressible self-critic inside my skull. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I found my balance by losing it over&over again, embracing opportunities, & appreciating life's evanescence. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

Emotional eruptions triggered in unpredictable and seemingly uncontrollable ways. Wrestling with acceptance. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

"Are you OK" a coworker asked. "No but I will be" Determined to bounce back. Not knowing what it would take. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

It was a clear, albeit moderate, case of PTSD. I was MEDEVACed out of Kabul on the ides of March, 2011. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

During breakfast one of my coworkers noticed. He listened without judgement & walked with me to the clinic. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

This scene, with minor variations, repeated over&over again whenever I tried to sleep. I couldn't function. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

I used to laugh at the sounds of bombs in the distance. This time they'd get me. I wouldn't see it coming. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers

[Paula Braun @fearsherpa]

We'd arrive. The meeting would start. A bomb would go off. I wouldn't see it coming; dead before the blast. #baghdadlibrarian #ruckusmakers