About the Book
This Book Is For You If You Are Still Carrying the Weight of Service-Related Trauma
This is not just a memoir. It's an apology letter for the damage done, a love letter to the woman who stayed, and a map for anyone trying to find their way home.
Hiding in Plain Sight is not another war story or celebration of strength-it's a brutally honest account of how thirty years of service as a veteran and first responder slowly dismantled one man's identity, marriage, and sense of self.
Doug White opens up about post-traumatic stress injuries, emotional collapse, and the fallout of a life spent serving others while ignoring his own breaking points. But this isn't a story about trauma-it's a story about growth, honesty, and the long road back to being whole.
If you're a spouse, partner, or loved one of someone who serves, this is the book you give them when you can't find the words. And if you are the one still carrying the weight-this is the book that tells you:
You're not alone.
You're not broken beyond repair.
And it's not too late to become the person your family still believes in.
Hiding in Plain Sight is not just a story-it's a bridge. One that connects silence to
understanding, suffering to growth, and warriors to the ones who never stopped loving them.
Perfect for:
Veterans and first responders in transition
Military and responder spouses looking to support their partner
Readers seeking real, raw stories of trauma and redemption
Those ready to grow through what they've been through
This isn't just Doug's story-it's the story of every home strained by service, and the message that growth, love, and restoration are still possible.
Give it to the one who's still hiding, or read it to understand the one you love.
Review :
Five Stars.
"Hiding in Plain Sight is that rare book written for high-risk professionals: unflinching, grounded in medical science, and urgently needed. Doug White's raw first-person account makes visible the complex injuries and impairments my colleagues and I describe in the military and first-responder communities. He shows how years of high-tempo service and accumulated allostatic load reset the human nervous system, injuring brain, body, behavior, and soul. The results are familiar: persistent hypervigilance, sleep disruption, anger and irritability, cognitive deficits, chronic pain, hormonal dysregulation, strain on marriages and families, and daunting transitions back to civilian life.
Equally important, this book changes the way we talk about these issues and highlights emerging treatments and lifestyle adaptations to enhance performance and quality of life. If you lead, treat, or love someone who serves, I highly recommend this book. It names the problem and points toward the way forward."
-Chris Frueh, PhD, author of "Operator Syndrome"
Love your book so much.
"It is a model for storytellers who have been scuffed up and have so much lived experience to offer the world."
- Scott Mann, Lt.Col (Ret.), Author, No One is Coming to Save You.
The human side of leadership
"This book is honest, grounded, and wise, especially coming from someone who's held rank. Doug shares what it's actually like behind the scenes in law enforcement: the pressure, the silence, the internal weight that comes with leadership. Hiding in Plain Sight doesn't try to impress you...it just tells the truth, and that's what makes it powerful. It reads like a conversation with someone who's lived it, owned it, and finally said what needed to be said. This book gives others permission to tell their story, too."
-AK Dozanti, Author, Beat the Burnout.
This book is a raw, authentic, and unflinchingly honest memoir about a life dedicated to service, both in a military capacity and as a first responder in law enforcement. It strikes a unique balance of being heartbreaking in the place he ultimately found himself psychologically, yet also inspiring in how Doug managed to overcome his demons and darkness. Ultimately leading to a place of healing, incredible insight, growth, and the courage to share his own struggles, in a mission to ensure no one else experiences the same without knowing they're not alone.
It's not only for the first responder or veteran, but also a powerful read for the spouse or partner of one too. It provides some insight into the things we are exposed to yet rarely want to talk about. But also serves as an acknowledgement of how important their role and support is to us, throughout the course of our careers, even though it's not communicated or validated as often as it should be. Great read, highly recommended.
