'We don't abandon our comrades' A former sniper of the 8th RPIMa releases his first novel in tribute to soldiers victims of post-traumatic syndrome

Can you introduce yourself…

Stéphane Rochefeuile, 37 years old. After my studies, I decided to join the army and served from January 2010 to April 2019 on 8^eRPIMa as a sniper, spotter (observer) and sniper group leader. Today I live in Saint-Sulpice and I manufacture custom furniture for a specialized company. I write novels on the side.

How did you come to release this first novel, An angel in Paris ?

Since I was little, I have always had a lot of imagination and I had to get all these stories out. I centered the story of the novel around a character who had darkness, and who little by little shifted towards good, for good reason. As I come from the military world, I wanted to address the theme of post-traumatic syndrome.

By relying on your experience?

I haven't experienced any traumatic moments during my career, but I felt the need to look into PTSD. I have friends who were present in 2008 in Uzbin (10 French soldiers, including paratroopers from “8”, killed by the Taliban in an ambush in Afghanistan) and I have a cousin who was hit when he was in special forces. I find it important to talk about it and I wanted to give keys in my story to help people heal.

How do you feel from the outside when you see your comrades suffering in this way?

It's complicated. We would like to help but sometimes it is not easy: it often happens that people affected by this illness withdraw into themselves. The important thing is to be present, be patient and try to understand. It's another fight and alone, it's complicated to get through it.

The subject has long been taboo. Do you feel like things have evolved?

Yes, there has been a big change in recent years. We have more information on the subject and we are not abandoning our comrades. But sometimes there are misses: I have the image of a colleague who committed suicide in 2015. We didn't see it coming… It shocked me. We saw him sinking but we told ourselves that it was just a passing moment. At that moment, I realized that behavior change had to be taken into account. I think about it from time to time, he had his whole life ahead of him.

What is your book about?

It's a fantasy thriller about a former soldier who faces his demons, with self-destructive behavior. Following an accident, he finds himself propelled into an investigation into unexplained phenomena. It is also a tribute to our soldiers and their resilience, which explores not only the mysteries of the invisible but also the difficulty of confronting inner demons after a life of military service.

Will there be others?

I'm writing a second book. It's not a sequel, and yet the stories are linked to each other. This time, it will be more about a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.