Thursday, July 3, 2014

The Warrior's Heart

Hello bloggers! Today's post is also going to be a book review, as I am currently working on other posts under the "insights" and "culture" labels. Check back for this reading material shortly!

The Warrior's Heart by Eric Greitens is an adapted memoir based on the author's initial publication of The Heart and the Fist. The Warrior's Heart is a book targeted towards the young adult genre, but it is also a good read for any age. Eric Greitens is a humanitarian and scholar, and also served as an officer for the Navy SEALs. I recommend you read his bio on his website, which you can find here.

A poignant nonfiction novel, The Warrior's Heart is an eye-opening adventure into Greitens' experiences in war-torn countries. He begins the novel describing his desire to do humanitarian work, with reference to his time spend in Rwanda and Bosnia after genocide ripped their countries apart. His experiences in a Rwanda refugee camp are raw and real, showing his many interactions with families whose lives had been affected by the discord in their countries.

Greitens continues his novel with the discussion of his time training for the Navy SEALs. One of the most prestigious and coveted branches of United States military, it is a difficult program with rigorous training. As Greitens becomes a SEAL, he writes about his active duty experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Upon returning to the States, Greitens donated his combat pay to found The Mission Continues, a nonprofit organization that helps rehabilitate soldiers and provide them with roles in the community. The Warrior's Heart is a reflection of Greitens' personality. It is a story of courage, of redemption, and of righting the wrongs in our world. I do not want to go into excessive detail, as I want you to discover the gem of this story on your own.

I will leave you with this quotation from the novel:

“Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and the author of Man's Search for Meaning, wrote that human beings create meaning in three ways: through their work, through their relationships, and by how they choose to meet unavoidable suffering. Every life brings hardship and trial, and every life also offers deep possibilities for meaningful work and love ... I've learned that courage and compassion are two sides of the same coin.” (Greitens)

Happy reading, my friends.

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