Welcome To Dedra Burnom
Raw Truth And Unfiltered Healing
A military veteran's unflinching account of surviving sexual trauma, rebuilding from bankruptcy, and choosing life when suicide felt like the only option. This memoir proves that survival is not about being unbreakable. It is about breaking and putting yourself back together on your own terms.
About The Author
Meet D.A. Burnom, Military Veteran And Survivor
D.A. Burnom served 24 years in the United States Air Force, earned three master’s degrees, and built a real estate portfolio from the ground up. But her greatest achievement is simpler and harder than any of that: she survived.
After enduring Military Sexual Trauma, three divorces, job loss, and a battle with suicidal ideation that nearly took her life, Burnom made a choice. She chose to document her journey instead of hiding it. She chose honesty over performance. She chose to write the book she needed when she was sitting in her closet with a gun in her hand.
Today, she uses her story to remind other survivors that healing is not about erasing your scars. It is about learning to carry them without letting them define you.
About The Book
A Memoir That Refuses To Look Away
Love Letters From A War I Didn’t Choose is not a redemption story with a neat ending. It is a survival story with messy middle chapters and hard-won victories that do not erase the losses.
Structured as journal entries spanning multiple years, this memoir takes you inside the mind of a woman navigating sexual assault in the military, single parenthood, financial collapse, and mental health crises. You will read about the nights she almost ended her life and the mornings she decided to try again. You will see her fail, fight, and refuse to quit.
Each chapter closes with Discovery sections where Burnom reflects on what she learned and why she kept going. The result is a book that offers no easy answers but provides proof that you can survive what feels unsurvivable.
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A Must-Read, According to Readers
The journal format makes this feel like you are sitting across from a friend who is finally telling you the truth. Burnom does not sanitize her anger, her depression, or her poor decisions. She owns all of it. That honesty is what makes this book powerful. You see her fail, you see her fight, and you see her refuse to quit.
— Jasmine T
I am not a veteran, but I am a single mother who has battled depression. So much of this resonated with me. The financial struggles, the guilt about not being enough for your child, the nights you question if you can keep going. Burnom writes about these things without sugarcoating or dramatizing. She just tells the truth, and the truth is enough.
— Maria G
This memoir does something rare. It holds space for both the trauma and the triumph without making one erase the other. Burnom shows you that you can be healing and still have bad days. You can be successful and still carry scars. The complexity of her story is what makes it believable and what makes it matter.
Dr. Raymond S
Reflections on Healing, Survival, and Self-Love
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