A former police officer tells his personal story of the long climb from depression to faith in the intense new personal memoir The Backpack. An amazing journey from despair to hope, The Backpack tells the truth about the burdens of stress and trauma on police officers and presents an inspirational story of how one cop overcame physical and emotional wounds suffered in the line of duty. I can still remember the taste of metal in my mouth from the barrel of the gun . . . . After the shoot-out that put him in a wheelchair, police officer Brandon S. Hultink was ready to put an end to it all. In his frank and compelling memoir The Backpack, Hultink tells how he came to the worst moment of his life, and how faith in God and the humility to accept help brought him out of depression, addiction and the wheelchair and back into successful life. But Hultink’s story isn’t his alone — it is also the story of the thousands of police officers who struggle with depression and post-traumatic stress. Cops don’t do touchy-feely; they stuff every trauma into a metaphorical backpack until the burden overwhelms them. Hultink writes unflinchingly of the mental health crisis affecting police officers and offers proposals for improving mental health services for police. An intensely personal story of anguish and survival, The Backpack offers hope to everyone — police and civilian alike — who struggle with depression and pain.