FORT BRAGG, N.C. - When Sgt. Julius Toney was stationed in Afghanistan for 15 months, he said he discovered a talent that he did not know he had.
As a member of the 82nd Airborne Division Chorus, Toney would try to write songs in his down time. However, instead of writing songs, he found that he could write poetry.
"I didn't think I had the talent, but I kept working at it," he said.
By the time Toney returned from Afghanistan in 2008, he had written a book. He said he knew he wanted to publish it without delay. Toney turned to the self-publishing company, AuthorHouse and "Unspoken Words" was issued in June 2009.
In the book, Toney said he focused on character traits such as integrity and honesty.
"There's a lot of being real with people because everybody likes to sugarcoat everything," he said. "You have to learn to let go of things and the best way to let go is to release it."
"Unspoken Words" covers the author's relationships with other people, but it also gives the viewpoint of seeing other people's lives through his eyes.
As one of nine children born to parents in Montgomery, Ala., Toney said he watched his siblings make decisions he preferred avoid.
"I was able to see a lot of things without having to go through it," Toney said. "I've always wanted to be dependable and reliable. That's how I wanted to live my life."
Toney said his best step to living a dependable life and moving ahead was joining the Army in 2005. Adding that it helped him grow up and learn discipline.
"With the will to fight God has provided for me, I pray my heart is imbedded inside him," writes Toney in the poem "The Still Will."
The words remind him that he is a child of God, Toney said.
"We forget what makes us tick. We let situations turn us against each other and have us go on paths we shouldn't go," he said.
"Unspoken Words" is available for purchase at Amazon.com.
The book was written straight from the heart and encourages each person not to give up on him or herself, said Toney.
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