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'Trouble followed me': A veteran shares his difficult transition back to civilian life and sobriety

Michael O’Dell and his friend and co-worker Winston Bromley
StoryCorps
Michael O’Dell and his friend and co-worker Winston Bromley

Last year, StoryCorps partnered with KUT for a series of virtual recordings in their Military Voices Initiative. We’ve been sharing a few of those stories this November. This piece features a conversation between Michael O’Dell and his friend and co-worker Winston Bromley. Michael shares the story of his difficult transition back to civilian life – and back to sobriety – after serving in the United States Marines. He and Winston now work together at Warriors Heart, which treats veterans, active military members, and first responders dealing with dependency and PTSD issues.

This piece was produced by Juan Garcia and Michael Lee with interviews recorded at StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. storycorps.org.

Mike is the production director at KUT, where he’s been working since his days as an English major at the University of Texas. He produces Arts Eclectic, Get Involved, and the Sonic ID project, and also produces videos and cartoons for KUT.org. When pressed to do so, he’ll write short paragraphs about himself in the third person, but usually prefers not to.
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