A literary exploration of personal identity and the trauma of war
Through Their Eyes: The Weight of Silence arrives Summer 2026
Debut novel from Veterans in Action founder and COO Billy MacLeod MBE
Matthew James Publishing has acquired worldwide rights to the debut novel from Billy MacLeod MBE, founder and Chief Operating Officer of charity Veterans in Action. Set for release in Summer 2026, this book illuminates the shared humanity that persists across separation and fear.
Through Their Eyes: The Weight of Silence is a powerful and profound debut novel that traces the parallel lives of two young men navigating loss, conscience and the burdens of the past during an ongoing conflict.
Ahmed in Gaza and Yossi in Tel Aviv are shaped by forces beyond their control, each learning what it means to survive and to remain human.
Billy McLeod’s debut is a profound literary novel about war’s quietest costs, generational trauma, and the fragile humanity that endures when every choice carries consequences.
“This is not a political book; it’s a human one,” says the author “It explores how trauma begins long before the first shot is fired, in the silence and pressure that moulds boys into soldiers.”
Having grown up in sectarian Glasgow and served in Northern Ireland as a young soldier, MacLeod visited Israel for research in April 2024. “My mind kept drifting back to those streets in Northern Ireland, to boys on both sides who seemed so different to each other but looked the same to me. I realised I couldn’t write this story through facts alone. I needed to write it through the perspective I understood best: the experience of young men caught in the middle.”
As a veteran of the Royal Engineers and the founder and Chief Operating Officer of Veterans in Action, a charity dedicated to improving the mental, physical, and social wellbeing of veterans across the United Kingdom, Billy brings his vast experience into this powerful piece of contemporary fiction. “Through nearly two decades running Veterans In Action, I’ve seen how PTSD doesn’t start the day someone is wounded. It starts much earlier, in childhood, family and the unspoken pressures that shape who we become. This book explores those beginnings. It’s about identity, indoctrination, loyalty, grief, and the choices young people are pushed into. It reminds us that conflict is lived by individuals, not headlines and that there are always two sides to every story.”
Through Their Eyes: The Weight of Silence by Billy MacLeod MBE will be published in paperback, ebook, and hardback formats in Summer 2026. More information will be shared closer to publication.
ENDS
About Billy MacLeod MBE
Billy MacLeod MBE stands as one of Britain’s most innovative veteran advocates, having dedicated nearly two decades to revolutionising how military veterans overcome post-traumatic stress and rediscover purpose in civilian life. As founder and Chief Operating Officer of Veterans in Action (VIA), MacLeod has transformed his own journey from struggle to triumph into a pioneering charity that has helped thousands of veterans across the United Kingdom.
About Matthew James Publishing
Matthew James Publishing is an imprint of Andrews UK. Matthew James Publishing focuses on high-quality contemporary fiction and popular non-fiction books.
