War stories are easy to tell. There’s action, adventure, and good vs evil. For most Veterans their service isn’t defined or explained by their war stories. For most Veterans the story that is far most difficult to write...and to live...is the story they have to write themselves.
In this episode, Fran Racioppi sat down with Steven Grayhm, writer and director of Sheepdog, a film dedicated to telling the most difficult story of our Veterans. The story of what happens to us, our families, our friends, and those around us when the war stories fade, reality sets in, and the hard work must actually begin.
Steven explains his 14 year journey to make Sheepdog, the thousands of hours he spent with Veterans of all walks of life, his embedment at VA hospitals across the country, and the reality of independent filmmaking; a blue collar process rooted in grit before the red carpet, where every dollar is raised face to face and every decision carries weight.
The film confronts veteran suicide honestly while reinforcing a simple truth. Ending your life does not end the pain. It ends the possibility of it ever getting better.
What drove Sheepdog was not an interest in war, but a responsibility to understand what happens after it. Steven and his team studied the realities of trauma, addiction, brain injury, generational differences between Vietnam and post 9/11 service members, and the long shadow that war can cast over identity and purpose. They went where the conversations were uncomfortable, where the answers were not clean, and where trust had to be earned. The result is a film that focuses not on combat, but on the war within.
Veterans are not victims. Sheepdog recognizes that service members volunteered, took risk, and earned something that does not disappear when the uniform comes off. A Veteran’s perspective matters. Trauma exists, but it does not eliminate the responsibility of Veterans to continue their personal and professional growth post service.
Sheepdog is a story about redefining purpose, about post traumatic growth, and about the courage required to take the first step forward when the path is unclear. It reflects the reality that transition is not a checklist, that no two experiences are the same, and that finding the right sense of mission after service is critical.
Highlights
0:00 Introduction
3:42 Why make Sheepdog?
12:40 Addressing generational differences
16:38 The idea of perspective
21:34 Losing morality
29:52 Veteran Suicide
37:43 VA resources
1:03:40 Was it all for nothing?
1:08:34 Hope for Sheepdog
Quotes
“The hardest thing I ever have done wasn’t to become a Green Beret, it was to not be a Green Beret.”
“They train you so well to do that job that you never really understand what the result of that job actually looks like.”
“Whatever happens on the other side of this, I’m going to leave it there.”
“One of the most challenging things in this journey of Sheepdog was getting it right.”
“The warrior doesn’t get to choose the war they go into.”
“It haunted me in my nightmares for years that crack in the sheep pen wall.”
“The guys that I learned to be more worried about were the guys that smiled through the pain.”
“I get very nervous when people wax poetically about suicide because it comes in all different forms.”
“All the resources in the world can exist, but it doesn’t matter if you’re not willing to use them.”
“Veterans are not victims.”
“In the film you would see, no one feels sorry for themselves.”
“I think we have to do better as a veteran to remove the victim mindset.”
“If we could save a single life with this film, that would be the greatest Hollywood success story."
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