Wounded in the line of duty and paralysed, police officer Brandon Hultink made an amazing journey from despair to hope. "I can still remember the taste of metal in my mouth from the barrel of the gun ..." After the shoot-out that put him in a wheelchair, police officer Brandon Hultink was ready to put an end to it all. In his frank and compelling memoir The Backpack, Hultink tells how he came to the worst moment of his life, and how faith in God and the humility to accept help brought him out of depression, addiction, and the wheelchair and back into successful life. But Hultink's story isn't his alone - it is also the story of the thousands of police officers who struggle with depression and post-traumatic stress. Cops don't do touchy-feely; they stuff every trauma into a metaphorical "backpack" until the burden overwhelms them. Hultink writes unflinchingly of the mental health crisis affecting police officers and offers proposals for improving mental health services for police. An intensely personal story of anguish and survival, The Backpack offers hope to everyone - police and civilian alike - who struggles with depression and pain. AUTHOR: A graduate of Western Michigan University and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Brandon S. Hultink served for fifteen years as an officer with the Battle Creek, Michigan, Police Department and for ten years as an assistant prosecutor with the Calhoun Country Prosecutor's Office. Hultink currently works as a parole agent for the Michigan Department of Corrections. He lives in Battle Creek with his wife and three sons. The Backpack is his first book. SELLING POINTS: . An inspirational story of how one can come back from anything: Author Brandon Hultink was wounded, paralysed, addicted, depressed, and suicidal, but he managed to survive and thrive. . Urgently needed examination of mental health issues among police officers, a national crisis that is never addressed. . Unusually honest account of personal suffering: Readers looking for personal guidance can relate to Hultink's frank account of his darkest moments. . Important messages about suicide prevention and mental health treatment.