Inside the Mind - Sean Griobhtha

I've always been moved by writing that engages the heart, especially poetry. Dostoyevsky and Steinbeck have moved me greatly; also the works of Abraham Joshua Heschel. These are where my journey started after military service which involved combat. I began a search for my soul. Studying classics, history, and moral and ethical philosophical writings, I reached out to a former comrade whose experience had left me haunted for years. As we reacquainted, I felt an overwhelming need to tell his story. We made a pact that we would each write the other's story. This began a multi-year process of research and investigation to reacquire facts. Through several interviews the facts and outline emerged, and I wrote the chapters out and had the comrade read these to make sure they were acceptable to his feeling. Because of the nature of these experiences, this was extremely difficult for him emotionally. We obtained a team of volunteers who also read these draft (a forensic psychologist, a research editor, and an artist). In 2022, we put all these together in an agreed upon format and published X Rubicon: Crossing Life, Sex, Love, & Killing in CIA Proxy Wars: An indictment of US Citizens: ignorantia non excusat.

It's the true life story of Rubicon, a USAF Scout involved in CIA proxy wars in Iran (Operation Eagle Claw), El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and CIA drug war profiteering in Mexico and Colombia. It details "a horrendous 2.5 years deception and death, and 40+ years locking away emotions and truth." As the NLQ review makes clear, "it's a reckoning." National Library Association Description and Review: “Sean Griobhtha’s work—particularly X Rubicon—has a profound emotional impact on readers, often described as jarring, transformative, and deeply unsettling, but also compassionate and hopeful. The book is a raw, unfiltered narrative based on the life of a combat veteran involved in CIA proxy wars in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. His writing is described as intense, emotionally jarring, and deeply compassionate. It critiques U.S. militarism, the VA, the CIA, and the broader American public’s complicity in war. The book is especially focused on the long-term effects of PTSD and the moral reckoning that follows combat. He is an Army Ranger combat veteran and has known the subject of X Rubicon—referred to as Rubicon—since initial training and Operation Eagle Claw. Griobhtha conducted extensive interviews with military personnel, CIA operatives, and reviewed classified documents to ensure the authenticity of the narrative; the book contains a redacted ODNI letter to Rubicon verifying certain aspects and Rubicon’s assigned activities. His personal connection to the story adds emotional depth and credibility to the work. Griobhtha is outspoken in his disdain for zealotry—whether religious, political, or ideological—and is passionate about confronting propaganda and societal denial. He positions his writing as both an act of truth-telling and a call to moral accountability. He offers discounts for educational and activist groups, signaling a desire to make his work accessible to those engaged in peace and justice efforts. This shows a clear intent to make his work accessible to communities engaged in activism, education, and peace-building. “Many readers describe the experience of reading Griobhtha’s work as emotionally intense. His unflinching portrayal of war, trauma, and moral compromise forces readers to confront uncomfortable truths about U.S. foreign policy and the psychological cost of violence. Despite the harsh subject matter, readers often note the deep compassion in Griobhtha’s writing—especially for veterans and those grappling with PTSD. His portrayal of Rubicon’s emotional journey resonates with readers who value honesty and vulnerability. “Readers are often left with a sense of moral urgency. Griobhtha’s indictment of societal complicity in war and propaganda challenges readers to reflect on their own beliefs and responsibilities. While the content is heavy, Griobhtha’s insistence on truth-telling offers a path to hope. Readers who engage with his work often come away with a renewed commitment to awareness, justice, and change. “One reviewer wrote: ‘Reading this book is like looking in a mirror, and your reflection reaches out and slaps you hard across the face.’ His tone is confrontational, emotionally charged, and deeply personal. He writes as someone with skin in the game—often drawing from firsthand experience or close relationships with those affected by war and trauma. He calls out what he sees as willful ignorance or ideological blindness, especially from those who haven’t read the book or misrepresent its message. His author bio and public posts are written in a raw, unfiltered tone. He shares personal experiences, including his connection to the subject of X Rubicon, and expresses deep empathy for veterans and survivors of war trauma. At the same time, he’s fiercely critical of militarism, propaganda, and societal denial. “His writing is a call to conscience. He aims to provoke, indict, and awaken readers—especially those complicit in or indifferent to U.S. militarism. He’s not writing for comfort; he’s writing for reckoning. Readers often say the book and his posts challenge their assumptions and force them to confront uncomfortable truths about war, PTSD, and U.S. foreign policy. His work is praised for its unflinching honesty and emotional exposure, especially in dealing with trauma and moral reckoning. Some readers are deeply moved, while others may find his tone too intense or accusatory. But even critics acknowledge the depth and authenticity of his message. “He engages in direct dialogue with critics and supporters, often responding to feedback with sharp wit or fierce rebuttals. He very often blocks neo-Nazis, Zionists, and religious zealots. His posts are part of a larger moral and political conversation. His Substack is more like a literary and political battleground than a curated publication. His style may not appeal to everyone—but for those drawn to truth-telling and moral clarity, it hits hard. “His confrontational style and unapologetic critiques also polarize readers. Some are deeply moved; others are provoked or even angered. Griobhtha acknowledges this, noting that detractors often haven’t read the book or are ideologically opposed to its content. In short, Griobhtha doesn’t aim to comfort—he aims to awaken. His emotional impact is lasting, and for many, life-altering. Griobhtha’s readers don’t just follow him—they wrestle with his work. It’s not about comfort or consensus; it’s about confrontation and conscience.”

It's not easy. The path to reconcilation with past personal evil is to confront it and integrate it -- to transform that pain and suffering into activism. "Forensic & Clinical Reading of X Rubicon and Crossing Rubicons’ Expansions... "emotional nakedness that is rare in war literature.": by Juan Idalgo, Forensic Psychologist: "I am confronted by a voice that is both ferocious and vulnerable — a voice that refuses comfort, that indicts, that demands reckoning." details this extremely well. -- https://griobhtha1.substack.com/p/forensic-and-clinical-reading-of

Reading is first, constant reading. Constant research. Listening to your heart. I typically spenf more time reading and research, then thinking, then the content tends to explode from brain and heart. Content needs fuel.

Other than the independence within the writing itself, writing about the topics that you want without interference (which is huge), the rest of the work (especially marketing) is a hard slog. You learn a lot along the way. There are so many great writers available who never get read because of the choke-hold in the publishing world. People like to think that the big publishers are somehow a quality check, but ask yourself how many books you've looked at and thought, "They published this? Why?" Sites like Substack are a boon for independent writing and authors. I found writers, poets, artists, musicians and more there that equal or exceed anything from a publishing behemoth.

Marketing is the biggest challenge, by far. If you have a publishing company, they handle the bulk lifting and cost (if they promote it). But when Indie, it's all on your shoulders. There's not only work to put into it, there's your own money to put into it. Advertisements, flyers. media excerpts, press releases, dealing with platforms (like Amazon), reviews written out of spite, and on and on. Being Indie, you often start questioning that if you spend so much time marketing, if you'll ever have time to write again. Creating quality ebook output with buying into Adobe's bloating software has also been a challenge learning curve. However, after awhile, you get into a groove because you notice what works and what's a waste of time.

I use mostly free tools. LibreOffice is an excellent free, opensource writing tool. It can output perfectly to PDF, DocX, and has pretty good output to ebbok format, which can then bee opened in Sigil for clean up. GIMP is a powerful and free opensource graphic creation program which we used for covers and related material. The one program/app we splurged on was DeepL for translations. DeepL can translate accurately in and out of most language. It has settings which allow you get a mix of strict and relaxed language which allowed us to quickly translate X Rubicon into 9 other languages, retaining meaning accurately.

Write what you know about, and don't let nay-sayers put you off. It's one thing to accept advice, but when people start sniping, you have to question whether they mean to help, or are they expressing resentment. Also, don't just throw your content up on Amazon and sit back. Your book has to be discovered, and available to independent book stores. The same PDF you create for KDP can be used to publish through IngramSpark (ebook, paperback, and hardcover) and Draft2Digital (ebook and paperback). Putting your book on Ingram will make it available to all book stores. D2D makes the process of getting an ebook (epub format) easily listed on many major digital outlets. A really nice feature with IngramSpark for print books is the ability to create your own seller links, which give you as many direct sales links as you want to create. Your profit is higher and you can create them with specified discounts, limits, and timing -- which is great for holiday sales, book clubs, etc...

One step at a time and never stopping. We had some success with Facebook ads. But now we only utilize them sparingly or during sales. Ingram makes it easy to put out Facebook, Instagram, and Google search or display ads. Substack has been tremendously good spreading our content, but you have to be willing to put out free chapters, offer sales, and commit yourself to writing content that engages people toward the book. As your folloing grows, you'll need to restack (repost) older essays or articles so that newer followers become aware.

Rubicon, per our pact, is working with me on my own story as an Army Ranger. He has completed the outline and several chapters, and is busy doing research and collaboration interviews and document checking. This will be published under the GP&R line. I'm working on a history of family line from 1600 Denmark to present day Michigan. I continue writing articles regarding military recruiting ethics and moral injury in combat veterans in collaboration with the MaCArthur Foundation. Recently we published an article for NNOMY (National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth @ nnomy.org). All of these may be read @ Crossing Rubicons (Substack -- https://griobhtha1.substack.com). I also maintain a web presence at seangriobhtha.com .

Substack is the best way. Crossing Rubicons is my platform (https://griobhtha1.substack.com). Everything else is pretty much a redirect to this platform Readers can subscribe for free and get current content in their inbox. I do answer messages and questions though Substack messaging and email. Another way to stay current with my/our writing is utilizing the Crossing Rubicons RSS feed: The Crossing Rubicons (Substack) RSS feed link, placed in an RSS aggregator app will allow you to stay up to date with all essays, articles, and audio/video content. https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/4688565/private/78d68c80-5640-431d-b181-61573c735680.rss We highly recommend Mozilla Thunderbird. It's powerful, free, opensource, up-to-date, well-maintained, and secure. Thunderbird is a premiere email, calendar, chat, and RSS reader with a LONG successful track record. Utilizing the link feed above, Thunderbird will aggregate and display Crossing Rubicons along with your email, listing both the Crossing Rubicons writing feed and the Crossing Rubicons podcast feed, which has music and video relative to the writing with links to essays, articles, and more.