This Mess We Made — Bronwyn Stuart

He's a war hero in hiding and she's an actress taken down first by fear and then by vice. Can they learn to heal together or will their past, and harsh truths previously unsaid, do damage neither one saw coming?Callum West is a war hero hiding from the world in a small town on the Murray River where he watches other people's lives roll by from the decks of his old houseboat. Audrey Hobson shatters his solitude when she flees her life of luxury in Hollywood to dry out in her mother's old home in Australia. He doesn't have the energy to deal with the drama queen and she only wanted anonymity, not a conscience with abs. But as the reasons for Audrey's slide into a bottle become clearer, Callum sees the same old demons in her that killed her mother.Can he hope to help her when he's living his own special kind of hell, suffering PTSD from his time as a medic in the army? Can two damaged souls come together to make a whole functioning couple or will his trauma hold him back from claiming some happiness with the girl he never should have ever kissed?CW: This book contains adult themes and scenes, and deals with post traumatic stress disorder, parental loss, alcoholism, pregnancy loss, and assault. While it doesn't all play out on the page in detail, the above themes are mentioned and form the backstory of Audrey and Callum, making their journeys full of real human sadness, but also hope against an all Australian backdrop. Some colloquialisms are also used and the book is published in American English.