The High Human Cost of Keeping Peace in Times of War: Former Canadian Army Reserve Medic Brent van Staalduinen on The Peace Thieves

About this episode

Brent van Staalduinen discusses his novel 'The Peace Thieves' and the complexities of peacekeeping during war.

Bestselling author and former Canadian Army reserve medic Brent van Staalduinen joins me here on Arash’s World to discuss The Peace Thieves, his novel about a peacekeeping mission in Croatia and the personal fallout that follows. He explains the book’s dual narrative between Francis, a reserve medic deployed in 1993, and Viva, the daughter he never knew and how that structure helps reveal the gap between first impressions and deeper truths. Brent also shares why he chose present tense: to make the story feel immediate, urgent, and alive. Our conversation digs into the brutal contradictions of peacekeeping in active war zones, where soldiers were sent to “keep peace” in places that had none. Brent reflects on the chaos, trauma, and impossible expectations placed on Canadian soldiers, especially reservists who often returned home without the support they needed. His insights make clear that The Peace Thieves is not just about war abroad, but about what happens to people long after the mission ends. We also explore the emotional core of the novel: empathy, fractured family ties, camaraderie under pressure, and the haunting meaning behind the title, drawn from poetry. Brent speaks…

People in this episode

Host: Arash Farzaneh

Guest: Brent van Staalduinen

Topics covered

• peacekeeping
• war
• trauma
• family ties
• empathy
• historical fiction

Keywords

• Brent van Staalduinen
• The Peace Thieves
• peacekeeping
• Canada
• war
• trauma
• empathy
• historical fiction

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Peace Thieves, World War II

Places: Croatia, Canada

More episodes of Arash's World Podcast

• Perfectly Perfect: Dr. Tiffanie Tate on Perfectionism and the Power of Self-Worth in a Social Media Age · June 9, 2026 · 25 min
• Meditate on This! The Tech Engineer’s Path to Peace and the Art of Thriving with Joe DeNicholas · June 2, 2026 · 40 min
• Ready to Listen: Speaking Up, Breaking Free from Conditioning, Finding Your Voice and Trusting Intuition with Author Leslie Lee Sanders · May 23, 2026 · 33 min
• I Need You… Now Go Away”: The Push–Pull Relationship Patterns Behind Personality Disorders & How to Best Go About It with Dr. Laura Dabney · May 7, 2026 · 30 min
• Night Terminus Bearing Witness: Queer Statelessness, Belonging, and Resilience Amidst the Long Shadow of AIDS with Author Ellis Scott · May 3, 2026 · 28 min
• Skydancing, Liminal Spaces and Entering the Blue Gate: On Serendipity in Kenya with Poet Kathryn MacDonald · April 20, 2026 · 26 min