By Wayne A. Ince, SMSgt (Ret.), USAF
Breaking Ranks Blog | January 2026
The well is running dry.
In African American communities across this country, people are suffering in silence.
They’re dying in silence. And I can’t stay silent anymore.
After 23 years in the U.S. Air Force, deployments to four war zones, and 15+ years
navigating the mental health system as both patient and advocate, I’m ready to share
what I’ve learned. Not because I have all the answers—I don’t. But because too many
people are dying while waiting for someone to break the silence.
That’s why I’m announcing two books that represent my life’s mission: to ensure that
mental health support doesn’t run dry for those who need it most.
UNTIL THE WELL RUNS DRY: Breaking the Mental Health
Crisis in Black America
Coming February 2026 | E-book and Paperback
Their Names Should Be Remembered
Deborah Danner. Walter Wallace Jr. Kayla Moore. Andrea Clark. Porter Burks.
Do you know these names? You should. They should still be alive.
Instead, they’re gone—killed during mental health crises by the very systems that were
supposed to help them. Deborah Danner, 66 years old, living with schizophrenia, was
shot eight times by police responding to a mental health call. She weighed less than 120
pounds. The officer claimed he feared for his life.
Walter Wallace Jr., 27, experiencing a mental health crisis, was shot 14 times while his
mother screamed at police that he was in crisis and needed help. They shot him anyway.These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re symptoms of a system that’s failing Black
Americans at every level—from historical medical betrayal to present-day police
violence, from inadequate insurance coverage to cultural stigma so deep it kills.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
The statistics are devastating:
Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. adults experienced a mental health crisis in 2024-2025
75% of Black adults suffering from mental health conditions never receive treatment
Black Americans are 20% more likely to experience serious psychological distress
than white Americans
Yet we’re significantly less likely to receive mental health care
When we do seek help during crisis, we’re more likely to be met with handcuffs than
healthcare
In too many Black communities, the well of mental health support has run dangerously
low. People are making an impossible choice: suffer in silence or risk their lives asking
for help.
Why I Had to Write This Book
I’m writing this as a Black man who has been there. As a Senior Master Sergeant who
served 22 years—Desert Storm, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo—and came home with invisible
wounds. As someone who has navigated mental health systems for over 15 years,
experienced the barriers firsthand, and survived to tell about it.
I’m writing this because I’m tired of going to funerals. Tired of hearing “if only they’d
asked for help.” Tired of watching systems fail the people who need them most.
But this is not a book of despair. This is a survival guide and a battle plan.
What’s Inside
Until the Well Runs Dry is divided into three acts—understanding, action, and power:
ACT 1: UNDERSTANDING THE CRISIS (Chapters 1-4)
We start with the human cost. I name the names. I tell the stories. Not to exploit Black
pain, but to honor lives lost and demand that their deaths mean something.
Then we dig into why this is happening. From Tuskegee to forced sterilizations to
present-day medical racism, I trace the historical betrayal that makes Black Americansdistrust mental health care—and rightfully so. We’ve been experimented on, lied to,
brutalized in the name of “treatment.” That history didn’t disappear. It lives in our
collective memory and shapes how we approach help-seeking today.
I document the current state of crisis with the most recent 2024-2025 research: where
the barriers are (financial, geographic, cultural, systemic), what the therapy gap looks
like (only 25% of Black adults with mental health conditions receive treatment), and why
traditional approaches often fail us.
Then we examine what happens when systems fail. Police response to mental health
crises. The deadly gap between what Crisis Intervention Training promises and what
actually happens when officers arrive. The government policies that sound good on
paper but leave people dying on the streets.
ACT 2: PERSONAL ACTION (Chapters 5-6)
Here’s where we shift from understanding to doing. Chapter 5 is immediate action—
crisis resources you can use tonight, therapist directories specifically for Black
communities, insurance navigation guides, crisis planning templates. If you or someone
you love is in crisis right now, this chapter could save a life.
Chapter 6 builds your personal healing practice. I break down nine evidence-based
therapy approaches in plain language—not academic jargon, but “here’s what this
therapy actually does and whether it might help you.” I explain Trauma-Focused
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, the Healing Racial Trauma Protocol specifically
designed for Black Americans, and six other approaches.
But I don’t stop at Western therapy. I honor African American healing traditions—the
power of music, movement, storytelling, faith, community care. I provide daily wellness
practices: breathing techniques that actually work, movement exercises you can do
anywhere, sleep strategies, nutrition guidance, connection-building. Everything is
practical, accessible, and rooted in both evidence and cultural wisdom.
ACT 3: COLLECTIVE POWER (Chapters 7-8)
Individual healing is essential. But we also need systemic change.
Chapter 7 shows what’s possible when communities organize. I detail Oregon’s success
—a 60% reduction in police shootings in Black communities after implementing mobile
crisis teams. Not theoretical. Not someday. It’s happening right now. I show you the
data, the economic analysis ($325 million in savings for LA County), the organizing
strategies that forced these changes.
I also show you what happens when government delays. Porter Burks in Detroit—killed
by police during a mental health crisis while the city debated whether to fund mobilecrisis teams. The teams were approved. Porter died before they were implemented.
That’s the cost of waiting.
Chapter 8 is the climax—the moment where I turn the question back to you: What will
YOU do?
I provide a 30-day action commitment framework. Seven immediate actions you can
take (pick just ONE to start). Written commitment templates. Sustainability strategies so
this isn’t just a moment of inspiration that fades. I show you the ripple effect—how one
person’s action creates waves.
And I include a critical safety section: If you’re barely surviving yourself, your survival IS
resistance. You don’t owe anyone activism. Taking care of yourself is enough. The
movement needs you alive.
This Book Is Different
I’m not an academic studying Black mental health from the outside. I’m not a therapist
who sees Black patients but goes home to a different reality. I’m a Black man who has
lived this—the stigma, the barriers, the fear, the survival, the healing.
Every word in this book comes from lived experience backed by the most current
research (2024-2025 data throughout). I cite my sources. I show you the numbers. But I
also show you the faces, tell you the names, honor the humanity.
This is peer-to-peer truth-telling. This is “I’ve been there and here’s what helped me,
and here’s what the research says works, and here’s how we fight for better.” This is love
letter and battle cry, survival guide and manifesto.
What Readers Will Find
If you’re struggling with mental health: Immediate crisis resources, practical coping
strategies, therapy guides written in plain language, and the message that you
deserve to heal.
If you’re supporting a loved one: Clear information about what they’re
experiencing, how to help without burning out, where to find culturally
competent care, and organizing strategies to demand better systems.
If you’re a mental health professional: Cultural competency guidance, trauma-
informed approaches specific to Black clients, and an honest look at how
systems fail the communities you serve.
If you’re an organizer or advocate: Data-backed arguments for policy change,
proven community organizing tactics, economic analyses, and real-worldsuccess stories from Oregon, Denver, and other cities.
If you’re just trying to understand: The truth about mental health in Black America—
the history, the barriers, the human cost, and the path forward.
THE UNSEEN MARCH: When the Battle Comes Home
Coming 2027 | The Next Mission
If Until the Well Runs Dry is the foundation—understanding mental health in Black
communities and building both individual healing and collective power—then The
Unseen March is where I get even more personal.
Why “The Unseen March”
We talk about soldiers marching off to war. We see the parades, the flags, the uniforms.
What we don’t see is the march that happens after—the long, invisible journey through
PTSD, trauma, and recovery that happens when the uniform comes off.
For 22 years, I wore the uniform. I deployed to Desert Storm, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo. I did
my job. I served with pride. And I came home carrying invisible wounds that took me 15
years to understand and begin to heal.
This is the story of that unseen march. And it’s not just my story—it’s the story of
millions of veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors who are fighting battles no
one sees.
PTSD Doesn’t Discriminate
Here’s what I learned: Trauma is trauma.
Yes, Black Americans face unique barriers to mental health care (that’s why I wrote Until
the Well Runs Dry). But PTSD doesn’t care about your race. It doesn’t care if you’re
military or civilian. It doesn’t care if your trauma came from war, abuse, violence,
accidents, or any of a thousand other sources.
What PTSD cares about is your nervous system. Your sleep. Your relationships. Your
ability to feel safe in your own body.
The Unseen March takes the foundation built in my first book and applies it specifically
to PTSD—for veterans like me, for first responders who see trauma daily, for anyone
carrying wounds that others can’t see.
What Makes This Book DifferentThere are plenty of PTSD books written by therapists who treat it. This book is written
by someone who lives it.
I’m not offering clinical distance. I’m offering hard-won wisdom from someone who
spent years in the dark before finding tools that work. I’m offering the veteran’s
perspective, the first responder’s reality, the family member’s struggle.
Because PTSD doesn’t just affect the person who experienced trauma. It affects
everyone who loves them.
The Family Impact
One of the hardest parts of my PTSD journey was watching what it did to my family.
My wife, who stood by me through the darkest nights even when I gave up on myself. My
children, who learned to navigate a father’s invisible wounds. The moments when I
wasn’t fully present. The times my hypervigilance made normal family life difficult. The
ways trauma shaped our household.
The Unseen March addresses this honestly. Not to add guilt—trauma survivors already
carry enough of that. But to acknowledge the truth: PTSD ripples outward. Families need
tools too. Partners need support. Children need age-appropriate explanations.
I’ll share what worked for us, what didn’t, and how we’re still learning. I’ll provide
resources for families—how to support someone with PTSD without losing yourself, how
to talk to kids about trauma, how to rebuild trust and connection, how to hold space for
someone else’s healing while tending to your own needs.
For First Responders
First responders—police, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs—face a unique form of trauma.
It’s not one event. It’s cumulative. Day after day, call after call, witnessing human
suffering, making life-or-death decisions, carrying bodies, seeing things that can’t be
unseen.
And then you’re expected to clock out, go home, and be “normal.”
The culture of first responder work often discourages vulnerability. You’re supposed to
be tough. You’re supposed to handle it. Asking for help can feel like weakness, failure,
career suicide.
I know that culture. I lived it for 22 years in the military. The unspoken code: we take
care of our own, but we don’t talk about our pain.
The Unseen March speaks directly to first responders. I provide peer-to-peer guidanceon recognizing PTSD symptoms, navigating stigma in your profession, finding help that
won’t jeopardize your career, and using the same resilience that makes you good at your
job to pursue healing.
A Practical Guide
Like Until the Well Runs Dry, this won’t be an academic text. This is a practical manual
for managing PTSD.
I’ll break down:
What PTSD actually is (in plain language, not diagnostic criteria)
How it shows up differently in different people
Evidence-based treatments that actually work (EMDR, Prolonged Exposure,
Cognitive Processing Therapy, and more)
Daily management strategies (grounding techniques, flashback interruption,
sleep protocols, relationship tools)
The role of medication (honest talk about what helps, what doesn’t, navigating the
VA system or insurance)
Alternative and complementary approaches (yoga, meditation, service dogs,
equine therapy, nature therapy, peer support)
How to build a sustainable recovery plan (not just survive, but thrive)
And most importantly: How to keep marching forward even when the path is
invisible.
Why These Projects Matter to Me
These aren’t just books. They’re my personal mental health practice.
Writing Until the Well Runs Dry forced me to process my own journey through the mental
health system—the barriers I faced as a Black man, the stigma I internalized, the years I
suffered before asking for help, the healing I eventually found. Every chapter is me
working through my own recovery while trying to light a path for others.
Writing The Unseen March will be even more personal. It’s me going deeper into my
PTSD—the deployments that marked me, the hypervigilance I still manage, the
nightmares that occasionally return, the ongoing work of healing, the gratitude for
family who stayed.
This is therapy through testimony. This is healing through service. This is me continuingthe mission that defined my military career—taking care of my people—but doing it
through words instead of weapons.
Community Advocacy
But these projects aren’t just personal. They’re acts of community advocacy.
Every day I don’t write is a day someone might not get the information they need. Every
day these books don’t exist is a day someone might give up before finding hope. Every
day we stay silent is a day the well runs a little drier.
I write because I survived and I want others to survive too. I write because I’m living
proof that healing is possible even after 15+ years of struggle. I write because the
barriers that nearly killed me are still killing others, and I won’t be silent while that
happens.
I write because “I’m surviving so I want to help others thrive.”
That’s not just a tagline. That’s my mission. That’s why Breaking Ranks Books exists.
That’s why I get up every morning and put words on the page even when it’s hard.
The Timeline
UNTIL THE WELL RUNS DRY
Mental Health in the African American Community
Release Date: February 2026
Formats: E-book and Paperback
THE UNSEEN MARCH
A Practical Guide to Managing PTSD for Veterans, First Responders, and Trauma
Survivors
Release Date: 2027
Formats: E-book, Paperback, and Hardcover
What You Can Do Now
If you’re struggling:
Call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) anytime, 24/7
Text “HOME” to 741741 (Crisis Text Line)Veterans: Call 988 and press 1 (Veterans Crisis Line)
Black Mental Health Alliance: 410-338-2642
First Responders: Safe Call Now: 206-459-3020
You don’t have to wait for my books to get help. Please reach out today.
If you want to support this work:
Follow Breaking Ranks Blog at www.big-sarge.blog
Share this post with someone who needs it
Sign up for email updates (coming soon) to be notified when Until the Well Runs Dry
launches
Pre-order information will be available January 2026
If you’re an advocate or organizer:
These books are tools for your work
Use them to educate, organize, demand change
Let’s build the movement together
The Well Doesn’t Have to Run Dry
There’s an old saying in African American communities: “Until the well runs dry, we must
take care of each other.”
For too long, we’ve been watching the well run lower and lower. People suffering in
silence. Systems failing us. Lives lost that shouldn’t have been lost.
But here’s what I know after 22 years in the military, 15+ years navigating mental health
systems, and a lifetime in Black America:
The well doesn’t have to run dry.
We can refill it. Through education, advocacy, organizing, policy change, cultural shift,
and most importantly—through breaking the silence.
I’m breaking my silence with these books. I’m sharing everything I’ve learned,
everything I’ve survived, everything I know about mental health, PTSD, healing, and
fighting for better.Not because I have all the answers. But because silence kills, and I refuse to be silent
while people die.
Until the Well Runs Dry
In Until the Well Runs Dry, I end the book with a question: What will YOU do?
I can’t answer that for you. Only you know what action you can take—whether it’s saving
your own life by calling a crisis line tonight, supporting a loved one through their
struggle, organizing in your community for better mental health services, or simply
reading this book and deciding you deserve to heal.
But here’s what I know: Your answer matters. Your action—no matter how small it seems
—creates ripples. One person getting help inspires another. One family breaking the
silence gives another permission. One community demanding change shows another it’s
possible.
The Oregon model proves mobile crisis teams work—60% reduction in police shootings
in Black communities. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because people
organized, demanded change, and refused to accept more deaths.
Porter Burks in Detroit died because the city waited. But his death sparked movement
that will save others. His mother, siblings, and advocates turned grief into action. The
Andrea Clark Coalition in Alabama is doing the same. Everywhere, people are refusing to
let the well run dry.
And so am I.
These books are my contribution to refilling the well. My way of ensuring mental health
support doesn’t disappear for those who need it most. My mission to help others not
just survive, but thrive.
The Unseen March Continues
For those of us who served—whether in military uniform, first responder gear, or simply
in the daily battle with trauma—the march never really ends.
We marched onto battlefields, into burning buildings, toward danger when others fled.
We did our duty. We served with honor.
And now we’re on a different march. An unseen one. Through PTSD, flashbacks,
hypervigilance, nightmares, relationship struggles, and the long slow work of healing.This march is just as important as the first one. Maybe more important. Because on this
march, we’re fighting for something essential: our own humanity, our own peace, our
own right to thrive after survival.
The Unseen March will be the field manual for that journey. Not written from clinical
distance, but from lived experience. Not offering false promises of quick fixes, but
honest guidance for the long haul. Not pretending the march is easy, but showing you
you’re not marching alone.
In Closing
I’m writing these books because I have to. Because staying silent while people suffer
and die is not an option. Because my personal mental health depends on turning my pain
into purpose. Because community advocacy is how I honor those who didn’t survive and
support those who are fighting to.
I’m writing these books because healing is possible and people need to know that.
Because systems can change and we need blueprints for how. Because trauma doesn’t
have to be the end of the story—it can be the beginning of something powerful.
I’m writing these books because until the well runs dry, we must take care of each
other.
And I’m determined to make sure it doesn’t.
UNTIL THE WELL RUNS DRY will be available February 2026 in e-book and paperback.
THE UNSEEN MARCH will follow in 2027.
Both books published by Breaking Ranks Books.
For updates, resources, and ongoing mental health advocacy, visit:
www.big-sarge.blog | www.breakingranksblog.com
Wayne A. Ince, SMSgt (Ret.), USAF
Founder, Breaking Ranks Books
Author, Advocate, Survivor
“I’m surviving so I want to help others thrive.”CRISIS RESOURCES
IF YOU ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER, CALL 911
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - Call or text 988 (24/7)
Crisis Text Line - Text “HOME” to 741741 (24/7)
Veterans Crisis Line - Call 988, press 1 | Text 838255 (24/7)
Black Mental Health Alliance - 410-338-2642
Safe Call Now (First Responders) - 206-459-3020
You are not alone. Help is available. Healing is possible.
Share this post. Save a life. Break the silence.
#UntilTheWellRunsDry #TheUnseenMarch #BlackMentalHealth #PTSDAwareness
#VeteranMentalHealth #BreakingRanksBlog
END OF BLOG POST
Published: January 2026
Breaking Ranks Blog | www.big-sarge.blog
© 2026 Wayne A. Ince | Breaking Ranks Books