My name is Andrew D. McEvoy, and I'm a Veteran of the Royal Navy, and a current RBL Member.

I am organising a tour at several RBL locations who are supporting me by using their venues for a book signing tour I am undertaking in October/November this year.

My e-book was published the 24th of April and the paperback book version is being created, printed and manufactured by the RBLI in Leatherhead who are collaborating with my book. This will be printed at the end of August 2025, followed by a publishing date of the 8th of September. The book is called P.T.S.D. (Poetry That Speaks Deeply).

I became involved with Help for Heroes in January 2015 after a breakdown at work in 2014. They referred me and in January 2016 I was diagnosed with PTSD with associated anxiety and depression from my service in the military. Writing poetry became my self help tool alongside the help and support from several of the military charities.

I was referred for EMDR treatment and but unfortunately this didn’t work for me. I continued writing and poetry was my outlet to get all the emotions out in a positive way for me. 

My poetry became noticed by some of the other Veterans and H4H Recovery Centre staff, and in 2018 when they were selling the "Tommy" figures, I was asked to write a poem, to help promote the sales as it was 100 years since the end of WW1. Remembrance that year led them to ask me to narrate the poem for a video they were making.

Although extremely out of my comfort zone and very anxious about it, I did narrate my poem and, in the video, filmed in the Hero Garden in HMS Drake, I was sat between my two children on the bench, which was a very special moment. Here is the link to the video via YouTube. [link]

This was the real turning point in my ongoing recovery but of course had many ups and downs along the way, including the loss of 4 close friends in 2010. Help for Heroes also commissioned me to write another poem to narrate at the November Remembrance ceremony at the Endeavour Recovery Centre, in front of many guests and Veterans.

I kept writing for myself and sharing my poetry with friends and family, they told me I should get my work published but because of my lack of self-worth and faith in my work I didn't do it. 

In January 2024 my friend Maria put me in touch with her friend Debbie Black, herself an Army Veteran, who had helped her with her business. We spoke and she put me in touch with Renford Marsden, a writer and publisher. 

He proceeded to take me under his empathising wing as his Veterans Project, and 16 months later we managed to publish an e-book, in April 2025. The plan is whatever the published paperback now makes in royalties, I will give 30% back to the charities that have helped me along my ongoing recovery with 5% to each charity. These are:

RBLI

Help For Heroes

Walking with the wounded 

The Not Forgotten 

RN & RM Charity

Veterans Foundation

I have visited many independent bookshops, community hubs, cafés, and even a smokehouse around the whole of Cornwall and parts of West Devon, speaking with them and leaving flyers to put in their windows, which only a couple of years ago I could not have imagined doing because of my mental health issues.

I've put a lot on social media via Facebook, Instagram, Substack, LinkedIn (my page and on the Gen Dit Network page), as well as the "Veterans Can" website.

 

My journey continues and positivity is blooming, despite feeling rather overwhelmed by it all. I feel and hope my poetry might support and possibly inspire people, whether they be serving, Veterans or Civilians, who've also, like myself, witnessed unimaginable trauma in their lives which has inevitably consumed their lives leaving them extremely vulnerable and broken.

If I can write from experience something that people can relate to and think to themselves "this is how I'm feeling" and take something positive from my words, then I'll be more than happy with that.

The paperback book is an Introduction to me as a poet, and the book includes chapters beginning with:

Remembrance

Demons

Supportive

Inspiring

Breathe

Family

and finally...

Mirth (meaning joy + happiness in the company of others)

The book is now available for 

pre-orders from my publisher's website at: 

It is also available for pre-orders online at Waterstones and Foyles Bookshops, and a process is in place for it to be sold via the RBLI website shop.