Kevin Gilmartin, Ph.D.
“Over the years since we released the book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, one of the most frequent inquires that we receive from our readers revolves around the question “We know support for law enforcement families is very important, but can you point us to a program of family support that works and shows us how to get one started at our agency?” I have received these inquires from across the US, Canada and Australia, and I have very often felt that my response to these inquires have been inadequate in terms of giving the inquirer specific steps. Talking about the need and importance for family support programs and actually building one from the ground up are two very different events. I believe the book How to Thrive with Back up: a Guidebook for Supporting the Families of Those Who Serve by Thompson, Roe, and D’Agostini answers those questions. The authors provide not just a philosophical perspective on the importance of supporting the families of those that protect society, but give a blueprint of the nuts and bolts of building a program that accomplishes that goal. This book is pragmatic, inclusive of the events that can make or break a program, and takes the reader step by step through the process. This book is long overdue as a tool for the First Responder profession. It needs to find its way into both Police and Fire training academies as a valuable resource. I personally will be recommending it immediately.”
