Signature Wound

An Iraq War vet struggles with a traumatic brain injury in this Doonesbury book that examines the impact of combat of American soldiers.


Headbanging Humvee driver SFC Leo Deluca (a.k.a. Toggle) had a love of ear-bleed battle music—until the sonic distraction led to his vehicle getting blown up in Iraq. Missing an eye and suffering from aphasia, Toggle fights to recover from traumatic brain injury (TBI), a journey of recovery that brings out the best in his former commander, B.D.



Toggle's tattooed, metalhead mom initially has reservations about his improbable Facebook romance with an MIT tech-head named Alex, but love blooms. As the story unfolds, Toggle finds himself drawn toward a career in the recording industry, undaunted by the limitations of the New Normal that now defines his life.



Crafted with the same kind of insight, humor, and respect that earned Trudeau a Pulitzer prize, Signature Wound is a perceptive and timely look at the contemporary soldier's experience.