Silent Heroes By Patricia Furstenberg Author Interview

Silent Heroes By Patricia Furstenberg

When Love And Values Are Worth Fighting For

Today I will be highlighting a new publication called Silent Heroes by Patricia Furstenberg.

The book is based around a subject very close to my heart. It portrays the wonderful bravery, spirit and dedication of Military Working Dogs and their handlers.

I asked Patricia what inspired her to write this book.

As it is cheerfully agreed between dog lovers, without the slightest necessity of scientific proof, there is a deep connection between canines and humans. Just as we can read their facial expressions, they can read our minds, even when we are not in the same room with them, yet plan on returning home – to find them waiting for us.

But what about the dog’s extraordinary sense of smell?

“You had three cookies in your pocket,you only gave me one,” says his tail.

“Well? I trust you.”

I often ask myself, why dogs do the things they do? Learn whatever we teach them? Choose to follow us, no matter where we go? Forgive us? What choices do they have, not to? Not considering the different dog bread’s abilities, canines must be some of the most persistent creatures.

Even in times of war.

Even at war? Stop. Rewind that thought.

From army mascots to tracking down and helping the fallen soldiers, dogs have proved invaluable on the frontline. This is more so during modern times when the latest technology can be blinded by artisanal weapons.

Yet, the question that rises is, what gives a dog the sense of security – in the midst of the battle and away from home? When his olfactory senses are overpowered by the scents of war and his ears struck by one explosion after the other?

The answer is simpler than I anticipated. No super powers and not the months of training, but the proximity and the connection the military dog has established with his human handler, his friend, his sibling, his parent.

It is astounding the amount of lives, both military and civilian, an army dog, trained to sniff hidden explosives, saves.

Surely a MWD, Military Working Dog, did not sign up to go into a war zone. His aptitudes did. But by going there with his human handler and by saving lives, dog and Marine saved the life of a local child. This child did not choose to be born in a country that knew nothing but war for almost two millennia.

Just as dogs don’t choose to go to war, people don’t choose to be born in a war zone. Yet they do. What are their chances of survival? Their options are fleeing their country with almost nothing on their back? What is the future holding for them?

I write these words from the comfort of my second home in South Africa; my first home being in Romania. I write for Louise’s lovely blog, “Waggy Tails Dog”, in UK. Readers from all the parts of the world will read it. What connects us, besides our love for dogs, is the fact that we are, all, global citizens.

I wrote “Silent Heroes” because, on researching military dogs and the troubled history of the Afghan people, I felt responsible for spreading their stories, their struggles, their hopes.

Author Website

Amazon UK / AmazonUS /

‘Silent Heroes’ is a highly emotional read, action-packed, a vivid story of enormous sacrifice and bravery.

*’Silent Heroes’ is the ideal read for the fans of ‘The Kite Runner’ and ‘Dear John’!*

Book Description

When Talibans descends in the village of Nauzad and discover girls can read, a woman accepts the blame and is killed on the spot for breaking the Islam law. Her teenage daughter witnesses the sacrifice and swears revenge, her life and that of her brother becoming intertwined with those of the US Marines serving at FOB Day nearby. But the Taliban is infiltrated everywhere and friends or foes are hard to differentiate. The U.S. Marines fight with bravery to protect the civilians of Nauzad and to fend off the Taliban at Qala-e-Bost, thus protecting Bost Airport, a vital strategic point for the allies. Faced with questions about the necessity of the war, with the trauma of losing their platoon-mates and the emotional scars of battle, the US Marines race against time in one last battle of eradicating the Taliban before it is too late. 

The War in Afghanistan is a contemporary, vitally important conflict whose meaning needs to be understood by the public worldwide. ‘Silent Heroes’ is a narrative about the value of life and the necessity of combat; the terror of dying; the ordeal of seeing your loved ones and your platoon-mates killed in front of your eyes; the trauma of taking a human life. 

Read about very well trained MWDs, military working dogs, capable of detecting the smallest traces of explosives, working in the extreme weather condition environments, under the stressful battlefield situations that is the War in Afghanistan. 

Smart and agile, at the end of the day what these dogs are looking forward to is the close bond they developed with their handlers, which call themselves the dog’s partners, brothers, daddies.

From the storyteller of the Bestseller “Joyful Trouble” comes a riveting, fictional account inspired by the War in Afghanistan, a battle that spanned centuries and has affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

“Light, knowledge, they bring the courage to look at the people around us, accepting them for what they are.”

“Do you ever think that history speaks of victors and captors, of battles and soldiers whose lives have been lost and history even counts them, but of the casualties on the civilian side?”

“When soldiers grieve, time takes a screenshot and a new star rises in the sky.”

About The Author

Here is my review of one of Patricia Furstenberg’s previous books, which is a collection of poetry about dogs.