War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation's Veterans from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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As a female veteran who was married to a Viet Nam helicopter pilot for years I found this book very insightful. I wish I had had access to it during my marriage. I know the wounds, have heard the anguished, painful memories and at long last understand that healing from P.T.S.D. is very possible. I would recommend this book for immediate reading for all veterans and their loved ones. Thank God their is a voice out there who recognizes the challenges faced by our "Warrior" class of citizen soldiers. The love he holds for them is very apparent in his writing. "
~ Written on 2008-08-12

"This book is heavy on the history of war and its impact on ones own soul but the author makes the connection. Had to keep going, not an easy read, but in the end I felt it was well worth the read. The author documents how our current society lets the warrior down and why they do that. It is not an idea I had considered before but it makes a great deal of sense. You have to stick to it and take your time reading this book and you just might get your soul back. Liked it alot."
~ Written on 2008-03-31

"I agree with Mr. Sneed, with one exception. Mr. Tick's PhD is in Communications, not clinical psychology (or counseling or any other relevant phd). This might explain his naive approach to war and the healing of others. I hope his heart is in the right place, and he is not just one more charlatan cashing in on the tragedies of others. War is hell, and there is no such thing as "the good old days." I hope Dr. Tick will in the future focus his efforts in areas for which he has the expertise to write."
~ Written on 2008-03-29

"I'm not often moved by a book from first page to last, but this has been one of them. Author Tick has spent decades of his life working as a therapist with war survivors from WWII to Iraq who have suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. The scope of his understanding as expressed in the book is reflected in his belief that PTSD "may be the moral defeat of our nation internalized in its veterans." It takes 276 pages of careful analysis before reaching this conclusion, but he builds a strong case along the way for dealing with PTSD as an identity disorder, and for understanding identity as bound up deeply with what lies at the living core of every human being - the soul.

It's impossible to do justice to the breadth and depth of Tick's argument in a brief review, but readers should be prepared for an acceptance of war as something that emerges from the psyche, where it finds expression first in archetypes and myth and then emerges as a rite of passage into adulthood. In other words, the willingness to go to war in individuals is not pathological but in fact part of a needed growth process. What makes this problematic in the modern age is the terrible destructiveness of modern weaponry and the modern war machine. The individual can be consumed in its ferocity and suffer profound psychological wounds (compounded by physical ones) that require immense healing. Alas, our culture, as returning veterans from Vietnam learned, knows next to nothing about how to provide healing that helps these men and women return to productive lives.

This is a book to be read slowly; there is much to absorb. Drawing on mythology, ancient literature about war, and Native American traditions, Tick explores how other cultures have regarded war and warriors. For those with either pro-war or anti-war sympathies, he makes an argument that each can learn from - building a model of healing that reflects some of both points of view. War is so deeply embedded in ourselves and in our connection to Divinity, he argues, it will never go away, and not because we are basically savage but because we need war to become fully human. The challenge is to re-imagine war and rediscover what has been understood, taught, and practiced in the warrior traditions that predate the modern age. While this may seem an impossible task, its vision can still serve those who look for a way to release themselves and others from the ravages of PTSD. The many case histories included in these pages show this process at work, and for those who have tears to shed, prepare to shed them."
~ Written on 2008-01-29

"I highly recommend this book to non-combat vets feeling displaced or unfulfilled by their military experience. Combat vets who are having problems with controlling their rage may find it less useful, as Dr. Tick spends much of the book talking about warrior ethos that may seem misplaced, and his advocacy of Indian-warrior sweat lodges will not appeal to everyone. But anyone who has experienced trauma, on or off the modern "battlefield" would benefit from this important work."
~ Written on 2008-01-21