Jan. 27, 2026
Finding Light in the Shadows: Anthony Dyer's Journey from Trauma to Triumph
Send us a text In this compelling episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we sit down with Anthony Dyer, a veteran and debut author whose book *Moon Child* explores the profound themes of war trauma and the quest for purpose. Anthony shares his journey from a small town in Appalachia to the skies as a special missions aviator, detailing the challenges he faced both during and after his military service. He opens up about the struggles of transitioning back to civilian life, the loss of id...
In this compelling episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we sit down with Anthony Dyer, a veteran and debut author whose book *Moon Child* explores the profound themes of war trauma and the quest for purpose. Anthony shares his journey from a small town in Appalachia to the skies as a special missions aviator, detailing the challenges he faced both during and after his military service. He opens up about the struggles of transitioning back to civilian life, the loss of identity, and the therapeutic power of writing, which ultimately led him to pen his memoir. Listeners will hear about the pivotal moments that inspired Anthony to confront his past, including the emotional toll of combat missions and the importance of seeking help for mental health. With humor and honesty, Anthony discusses how faith and community support have played crucial roles in his healing process. Tune in for an insightful conversation that sheds light on veteran experiences and the importance of understanding PTSD. Discover more about Anthony and his impactful work, and get ready to be inspired by his resilience and advocacy for mental health awareness.
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> Curtis Jackson>Welcome to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. if you believe you can achieve. Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today I am joined by veteran and debut author Anthony Dyer. And Anthony is the author of the book Moon Child. And this book talks about the journey in war trauma and finding your purpose. So we're going to be talking to Anthony about his book. And Anthony, thank you for your service. And we're going to be talking to him about everything that he's up to and going to be up to. So Anthony, thank you for joining me.
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> Anthony Dyer>Honored to be here.
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> Curtis Jackson>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?
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> Anthony Dyer>Yeah. So I, grew up in a, small town in Appalachia there. And that's the roots part of my book.
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> Anthony Dyer>Small, town called Silva in, western North Carolina. And often joke, you know, that you could probably throw a baseball across my hotel when I was growing up. And you know, small community, but the sense of community was strong. And, you know, everybody had everybody's back. And you know, I get to a point my senior year where I had really no, no direction, no guidance, didn't have good grades, didn't want to go to college. My dad gives me the, you know, the typical dad talk of like, I'm, a grown man. It's time to either, you know, get a job, go to college, or get out. And so I talked to a neighbor recruiter at first, and he's talking about being on a boat for six months and then an army recruiter. And I was like, you know what? I'm m gonna talk to my dad about sort of the quality of life of the Air Force, you know, and TDYs and, you know, golf clubs and good chow halls and all that good stuff. And there I was, July 18th on my first flight ever to, or fixed wing flight to, San Antonio, Texas. And you know, I get to about 10 years into my career, about halfway through, and I realized I was sort of sitting on the sidelines, with the world on terror. And, I was at home actually on leave at a pizza parlor.
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> Anthony Dyer>And I look out and I see the same cracks in the road. And, and what I'm, what I'm talking about the same people doing the same things and, you know, realize I was sitting on that same sideline.
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> Anthony Dyer>And as I want to leave cracks, I don't leave craters. And that's when I decided to, to join the mighty 16th Special Operations Squadron and start flying on the A330 gunship and retired one December at 21. And, you know, I lost my identity there when I was getting out. And that's where a lot of the, you know, losing that, who I was, was a lot of the problem. And that's when I started to write. And now I got a book called Moonshot.
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> Curtis Jackson>Yeah, well, kind of, Tell us about that book.
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> Curtis Jackson>What, what actually m made you decide to write it.
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> Anthony Dyer>Yeah. So when. When I meant that last, you know, last year in my career, I. I remember I'm in, like, this personnel type office, filling out the infamous, you know, DD214 paperwork. And I remember, like, just leaving this. This office, you know, and like, I remember there wasn't a door, hand on handle on the other side, so you could walk in, but, you know, you can walk out, but you can never get back in. And, you know, so at that point I realized, like, the whole light at the end of the tunnel and the whole reason for being a gunship person on AC130 is to provide close air support for those, those super ninjas, you know, your Green Beret, your seals and Rangers, and make sure they get home to their family. And, it was an awesome responsibility. And then I realized that sense of relevance was gone.
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> Anthony Dyer>and then at that point I started drinking. What was a pint on the weekends turned into a pint of hard alcohol at night just to go to sleep with, sleeping meds, you name it, man. And my wife gave me the ultimatum of either her and the daughter or the bottle. So that's when I picked up a pen and started putting pen to pad. And then with that, I got help with the prolonged exposure therapy. And part of that process is telling your story, sort of like we're doing now, and basically getting comfortable, being uncomfortable and talking about the hard parts and, you know, penned paper. And about seven months later I had a. Had a book in hand, so.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, when you were writing the book, what was the hardest moment to revisit, you know, when you were writing it?
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> Anthony Dyer>I would say definitely, there's a port. In my part of my career, I went to the, to do the Castavac missions on the, 41st Rescue Squadron, the helicopter. And, you know, it was the 8th of June of 2018. We were in, East Africa. And I tell people we saw the. The best side of combat search and rescue that day, and also the worst side, meaning we saved five guys. And then one. One Eagle, one American, when he got on the Operating table had passed away. And so that one that stuck with me forever. And I had a large. A hard time with that. Whether it's survival's guilt or, you know, all the trauma that comes with something like that. And just, it really, really surfaced towards that last, you know, year. Year in the Air Force there and. And, you know, talking to the psychiatrist there, you know, I went in there with a chip on my shoulder and like, what does this lady know about, you know, about healing, you know, the mind and. And more and stuff like that.
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> Anthony Dyer>And, you know, she gave me the cliche analogy of like, you wouldn't call a dentist to. To fix your car. Right. And at that point I was, okay, I'll give it a chance. And, so. So glad I did. You know, I feel like I'm a better father, better, Better person, better. Better airman, better wingman.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, how did writing this book kind of help you, therapeutically processing your feelings?
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> Anthony Dyer>Yeah, I would say it helped me say the. The loud parts out loud. You know, the. There's a, Some very uncomfortable moments in there where. Like, where, you know, I wanted to drink, you know, and I'm getting into those. Those dark moments, especially that mission, you know, and, the things that I was, you know, always turning my mind away from. I just decided to. To face all that trauma.
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> Anthony Dyer>And, And also I thought about the fact that, you know, like, helping is healing. You know, if I write this story and if one. One veteran, you know, when they get out, they have a similar struggle and they read this book and get help then. And that's a blessing. And that's, really for two. Two reasons to show America. Rest of America. This is what happens when you're sleeping. These type of things. And then also for someone else to get help, that would be a. That'd be a win.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, let's talk about the title of the book, Moon Child. Tell us what that title means to you.
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> Anthony Dyer>Yes. So it's really symbolic for me. One of my favorite poems, there I start off the book with, is, a Stay Wild Moon Child by Rita Clint. And then, the moon's always been like my lighthouse. I remember flying, especially in Afghanistan, and you have this 100% alum, this full moon, if you will, and it highlighted the terrain. And, we have in flying what you call get well points. So if you ever get lost in orbit like the gunship does, I could say, okay, I know the moon was on this side of the orbit. And, you know, so it always got Me home, if you will. And also, the thing about the moon is, like, you know, on those darkest nights, that's when it burns the brightest. You know, when everything is against you, whether it's the weather, emergency procedures, communications, whatever the case is, just life in general. You know, that that's when that moon burns the brightest on those darkest nights.
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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, well, you. You were special Missions AVA aviator. So describe to the listeners what a special missions aviator actually does.
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> Anthony Dyer>Yep. So the special Missions aviator, back in 2012-2013, the Air Force created this, this Swiss army knife in the sky. And what I mean by that is they combined the. What was the aerial gunner career field with the flight engineer career field with the load master career field. So you have one person doing all, all three of those tasks on, for example, the. The AC130 and the 16th Special Operations Squadron.
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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, well, let's talk about the disconnection that the veterans feel once they, finally come back. Why do you feel like they feel that disconnection when they return home?
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> Anthony Dyer>I think it's because the sense of rel. The loss of identity. Honestly, I get a sort of overwhelming amount of emails that I got from people I used to fly with. Even the same struggle, you know, like, you know, we just got over two decades of war as well, you know, so that my why was gone. You know, everything that. That I considered, like, was my whole reason for being, you know, provide that close air support. You know, in my mind, like, that was, You know, I felt like I was losing my legacy, you know, and, And legacy has always been important to me, and I'm sure it is to. To a lot of people. You know, I remember my grandfather asking me, like, you know, do you remember your great, great, great, great grandfather's name? I was. Honestly, I don't. You know, and the point he was making is, what's this brief mortal life if not the pursuit of legacy? And the point being, you know, there's no U haul behind a hearse, so you can't take anything with you. All you can leave is how you're remembered. And, and I, feel like veterans, when we lose that relevance, we feel like we lose part of that legacy.
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> Curtis Jackson>What do you wish more people understood in regards to PTSD and veteran mental health?
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> Anthony Dyer>I wish the people that, like, for example, myself, that have it, that realizes it's okay to get help, you know, and. And I wish that, you know, the civilian population would encourage, you know, us to get help and, you know, we know our friends more than anybody, our brothers and sisters. And.
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> Anthony Dyer>And there's a difference between. Between saying, like, hey, how's it going? Or, hey, how you doing?
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> Anthony Dyer>Really, you know, how you really doing? And, you know, to notice those signs and to encourage every veteran to get help and just, you know, remove.
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> Anthony Dyer>Remove that, you know, sort of concept that comes with, that is looked down on, but, you know, everybody has to take that tactical knee at one point.
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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, well, you know, kind of. Kind of talk to the listeners about the book, kind of tell them what they can expect when they read it, where they can get it, and what you hope they take away from it when they read it.
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> Anthony Dyer>Yeah, so I would say that, it's a. It's a. It's a short read and, get a lot of feedback with that.
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> Anthony Dyer>And it's a little book that make you laugh and it'll make you cry within the same, you know, two hours. I call it a Sunday read. And, you know, it's all based on the roots and wings. Like roots being, where I grew up, you know, deep in Appalachia, and sort of the morals and the moral compass that was instilled in me when I was little, taking that with me. And then the wings, you know, I call wings. You know, it's the infinite lets you, touch the face of God. So it's got. It's good to know where you come from with the roots part, and it's better to know exactly where you're going. So that's the whole sort of concept behind is the roots and wings.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, you're now an advocate for aviation and military communities. So talk about the systemic changes you believe that need to take place to be able to help service members better.
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> Anthony Dyer>And I think they already are taking place, to be honest with you. I know they've developed, the preservation of the Forston family, or the pot of, concept there where every squadron, in especially special operations and aviation, you get a physical therapist, you get a physical trainer, and you get a mental health person, ah, you can talk to. So I'll say it's getting better with that. But I would say just, you know, just remove the thought that, like, you know, it's. That it's.
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> Anthony Dyer>It's a bad thing to get help when. When all. All reality, you're making even America a better place when that person seeks help, you know. So again, you know, I would say encourage those people in these uncommon jobs. You know, we're all very normal men and women doing very, you know, uncommon, unordinated things and that it's okay to get help, you know.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, how do you feel like humor helped you survive the darkest moments of your life? Because you got some dark, humor in your book as well.
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> Anthony Dyer>Yeah, I would say humor is definitely a big part of my life. I know Jim Balvano, in his ESPN speech there when he had cancer and he was dying, he says, one thing you should do every day is laugh, right? And if you can make someone laugh, especially in the darkest corners of the earth, man, that's a little bright light that spreads.
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> Anthony Dyer>It's contagious. There was always something about me and pranks and sort of the stuff, the camaraderie that comes with that as almost like being accepted, you know. So there's definitely some, some funny pranks and some dark humor in there.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, faith became part of the healing arc of your stories. So talk about how faith has changed before, you went to combat and how it has changed, who you are now.
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> Anthony Dyer>I would say faith played the most important role, if I'm being honest. Like, I realized especially, you know, in the last year in my career that I turned to everything. Everything except for Jesus.
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> Anthony Dyer>You know, I turned to the mental health thing, which I, you know, I know that's a big part of it.
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> Anthony Dyer>Friends, you know, family, you know, ways to make more money. All these different things that I thought would, would help me. And I turned to everything but, but Jesus, you know, and I talk in
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28. I could almost hear Jesus saying that when I was at my, my rock bottom crying out. And, you know, the most honest conversation I ever had was with myself and Jesus in that mirror that night. And that's when I decided to quit drinking and, you know, be the best husband I could be, the best father I could be, and the best friend I could be to someone. So faith is definitely the cornerstone of my healing process.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, let's talk about, which one of these were the hardest part? Flying the mission and hostile environments or, you know, once the uniform came off, not having that mission driven identity?
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> Anthony Dyer>Definitely the hardest part was not having the mission driven identity. And that, you know, that, that loss of relevance, that sense of purpose was gone. And, that, that's a, honestly a common thing, you know, with veterans. And once that's gone, you have to find exciting moments in the calm. I'll say that, you know, being, you know, being the best father, husband, wife, mother, whatever that case is for that person, that's the legacy to me that matters now. Being that best person.
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> Curtis Jackson>Tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.
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> Anthony Dyer>yes, I'm doing a project, it's called Operation Song. And it's a place out in Nashville. And they basically pair you up with a writer. so every veteran has a story, the idea behind that. And they'll ah, you know, get your, your song written and you know, performed. You know, so you get to get that, that song out there to get that veteran story out there. And also I'm developing ah, an app that's going to be called the Debrief. And the idea behind that is, is like you can like say it's on your phone for example. You could speak into it and it'll you know, with AI sort of soft edit it for you. Then through donations and stuff like that being a non profit, the, the veteran or this, you know, first responder even, they could get their story edited and published for either free or really cheap.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, so everybody can keep up with everything that you're up to. Throw out your contact info.
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> Anthony Dyer>Yeah, so my email is anthonyp.dyermail.com and my my Instagram handles all lowercase, Marco underscore Brolo 21.
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> Curtis Jackson>All right, we'll close this out with some final thoughts. Maybe if there was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to discuss or any final thoughts you have for the listeners.
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> Anthony Dyer>final thoughts I like to say. I always say like, you know, no matter what you're going through, you know, the, the worst part of your life, you know, just remember that, you know, Henry Ford once said that an aircraft takes off against the wind, not with it.
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> Curtis Jackson>All right, ladies and gentlemen, well said. So please check out Anthony's book and check out and keep up with everything that he's up to. Follow Rate Review Share this episode to as many people as possible. And also we just launched a new Living the Dream newsletter. So please go sign up for weekly updates on the show at www.craveball337.com. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Anthony, thank you for your service and thank you for all that you do.
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> Curtis Jackson>And thank you for joining me.
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> Anthony Dyer>Thank you, Chris. It was an honor. Thank you.
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> Curtis Jackson>For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.craveball3. Until next time, keep Living the dream.
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