Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life

Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life (2015) is a book written by Eric Greitens, a former Navy SEAL and Naval Officer, that consists of a series of letters written to a friend struggling with life after military service. The letters serve a guidebook for his friend, Zach Miller and draw on Greiten's personal experiences and knowledge of ancient and modern philosophers.

Background

In 2012, Greitens received a phone call from a friend and former SEAL, Zach Miller, whom he served with in the Navy, asking him for help. The introduction of his book Resilience describes the character of Miller, "a tough guy who would do anything for anyone". Yet, when he returned home, Miller was struggling with PTSD, losing his sense of purpose. Although it had been over a decade since they served together, Greitens and Miller began talking and exchanging letters almost daily, giving help to his friend who was in dire need.^[1] Greitens discusses how his friend's story is unique, but that many people deal with loss, fear, and a loss of purpose. His book Resilience, offers advice to his friend, that is intended to be useful to any reader in overcoming hardship and becoming a resilient person.

Content

In his book, Greitens covers many topics, meant to help his friend recover and heal including: happiness, identity, philosophy, pain, freedom, and death, just to name a few.

In discussing happiness, Greitens says to Walker, "When I was in Iraq, we knew that our work was saving the lives of American marines. We woke up everyday to live a life that mattered. When you come home from war, all of that -- the adrenaline, the love, the purpose, the pursuit, the calling -- vansishes. The happiness of excellence, of personal endeavor, is gone."^[2] Greitens repeatedly mentions the importance of purpose in attaining happiness and flourishing.

In another letter to his friend Walker, Greitens writes about pain, stressing the difference between physical pain and emotional pain, and pain we seek and pain that seeks us. He offers the following advice on pain to Walker: "To work through pain is not to make it disappear, but to make it mean something different for us -- to turn it into wisdom." ^[3]

Greitens also gives advice on the notion of freedom, telling Walker that he should "give yourself the freedom to live a life that's balanced -- not like a seesaw but like a beautiful work of art." ^[4]

Reception

Publishers Weekly said that "Greitens sets out a series of practical lessons designed to move his friend—and readers—past difficulties. Greitens doesn’t sugarcoat the difficulties involved in following his advice, but he convincingly argues that those who accept it are on the road to a brighter future. This book is a gift not only to Greitens’s comrades-in-arms, but to readers everywhere."^[5]

Admiral (ret.) Mike Mullen, 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated "In Resilience, Eric Greitens provides a brilliant and brave course of action to help navigate life’s roughest waters. Resilience is filled with solutions, passion and compassion. Every veteran of every war should read this invaluable book. So should their families. So should every American."^[6]

References