Michael Ware, currently on a year-long leave of absence from CNN, will feature on ABC Australia's 'Australian Story' next week.

A press release and promo from ABC Television Australia is below...

In this special two part edition, a famously fearless reporter finally confronts his personal demons after a decade dodging bombs and bullets in warzones across the globe.

**EXCLUSIVE**

PRISONER OF WAR
Part I Monday September 13 at 8pm on ABC1
Part II Monday September 20 at 8pm on ABC1

“From sitting down with West Timorese, to spending endless hours with the Afghan Taliban; to have sat with Al Qaeda after 9/11… I’ve always found myself crossing into the unknown – to the darker recesses.” – MICHAEL WARE.

Michael Ware’s fearless reporting made him a star on U.S. television, but his exploits are little known back in his home country.

Over the past decade, Michael Ware has reported on conflicts all over the world. But it was his most recent assignments in Afghanistan and Iraq that made him a household name in America.

Formerly TIME Magazine’s Baghdad Bureau Chief, Ware has spent the past four years as a foreign correspondent for CNN. His unflinching candour and outrageous physical courage often rankled authorities, while his reputation as a fearless seeker of truth earned him respect from all sides of the conflict.

“Michael Ware has completed the equivalent of eight to nine combat tours – there is no soldier in our military that has done that…Michael Ware has done that.” – FORMER STAFF SERGEANT DAVID BELLAVIA, US ARMY INFANTRY

Adopting local guise, Michael immersed himself in the conflict, gaining the trust of all sides, by attending insurgent training camps, speaking with Al Qaeda and embedding with the US military.

Today, Michael remains the only Westerner to be captured and later released by Al Qaeda in Iraq.

After constantly cheating death, Michael has just returned home to Brisbane to start to heal the psychological scars, reunite with his young son, and deal with experiences and trauma that almost defy belief.

On Australian Story, he is telling his compelling personal story for the first time.