Arizona native Will Higginbotham returned from serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan a changed man.

The boy who grew up in Coolidge returned a man suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after seeing heavy combat overseas, reports the Coolidge Examiner.

Higginbotham, not normally a writer, recorded his time in the Army in a small journal mailed to him by his mother, Terry Kennedy. She said her son would rarely talk about the war after he left the service in the early 2000s, instead allowing her to read that journal now full of narrative, poetry and sketches.

Higginbotham contemplated publishing the journal to help other returning veterans, but held off for various reasons over the years. When he was killed in a helicopter crash in 2013, Kennedy decided it was time to share her son’s thoughts with the world.

The journal was published under the title “Chaos of War, Balance of Life: A Soldier’s Journal from Afghanistan” and proceeds benefit Open Hands Outreach of Coolidge, a charity that helps soldiers returning from overseas.

In addition to the journal sales, the organization also accepts online donations.