Author Talks: Jonathon Benjamin

Join us for an evening with Jonathon “Jack-Jack” Benjamin—U.S. Air Force veteran, writer, and performer—for a powerful conversation on survival, identity, and rebuilding after trauma.

Jack-Jack served as an avionics technician on B-1 bombers in Abilene, Texas. In 2013, during a special duty assignment in England, he survived a near-fatal car accident that resulted in a fractured spine and a severe traumatic brain injury—injuries that ultimately led to his medical retirement in March 2015. What followed was a long, complicated road toward recovery, shaped not only by rehabilitation, but by the veterans he met along the way and the community that helped him find a “new normal.”

His book American Airman traces that journey with honesty, grit, and heart—moving from catastrophic injury to reconnection, meaning, and voice. The work began as his piece “American airman” and was produced at the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival in 2018 (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), carrying his story from the stage to the page.

Expect an accessible, human conversation (not a lecture), with time for Q&A and book signing if available. Veterans, military families, caregivers, and anyone interested in resilience, storytelling, and the reality of recovery are warmly welcome.

About the Author
Jonathon “Jack-Jack” Benjamin later earned honors in Theatre from George Washington University and now lives in Seattle, working as a federal employee.

What to Expect

• Author talk + moderated conversation
• Audience Q&A
• Optional book signing / meet & greet (if books are available)

Accessibility
If you need accommodations to fully participate, please reach out in advance and we’ll do our best to support you.

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