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Warrior's Return: Restoring the Soul After War
War touches us all―leaving visible and invisible wounds on the warriors who fight, disrupting their families and communities, and leaving lasting imprints on our national psyche. In spite of billions spent on psychological care and reintegration programs, we face an epidemic of combat-related conditions such as PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). With Warrior’s Return , Dr. Edward Tick presents a powerful case for changing the way we welcome our veterans back from service―a vision and a path for transforming the wounds of war into sources of wisdom, honor, and growth.
After more than 35 years of working with veterans, Dr. Tick has learned that our conventional ways of addressing the trauma and woundings of war fall far short, usually focusing only on symptoms and temporary relief. Drawing on lessons from cross-cultural wisdom, mythical archetypes, and proven methods from psychology, he offers this book as a valuable resource to help families, caregivers, and returning veterans understand and cope with the life-changing effects of combat,
Re-examining PTSD―why we must expand our understanding of the full psychological and spiritual impact of war’s invisible woundsArchetype of the warrior―service in combat as a “journey to the underworld,” and why the return home is the most crucial stageThe warrior’s path―timeless wisdom from tradition, classical philosophy, great leaders, and religious and mythological sourcesHow cultures around the world have welcomed home their returning warriors for centuries―and what we can learn from themThe warrior’s initiation―how the old self dies on the battlefield and a new, more mature self evolves in its placeRestoration―methods for overcoming disillusionment and soul-fatigue to restore the warrior’s sense of purpose, motivation, and connectionComing home―specific steps for reintegrating our warriors back into our families and communities Honor―how a warrior can retain personal integrity and self-respect even when they have participated in a war they don’t believe inForgiveness, reconciliation, and atonement―ways for warriors to close the circle and begin healing what was destroyed“This is not a hopeless situation,” states Dr. Tick. “Lifelong suffering after war is not inevitable if we understand war’s impact on the heart and soul, both for ourselves and our culture.” For veterans and those who wish to support them, Warrior’s Return offers step-by-step guidance for initiating our transformed warriors into valued members of our community―with an essential map for the hero’s journey home.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Soldier’s Heart. Visit soldiersheart.net.
After more than 35 years of working with veterans, Dr. Tick has learned that our conventional ways of addressing the trauma and woundings of war fall far short, usually focusing only on symptoms and temporary relief. Drawing on lessons from cross-cultural wisdom, mythical archetypes, and proven methods from psychology, he offers this book as a valuable resource to help families, caregivers, and returning veterans understand and cope with the life-changing effects of combat,
Re-examining PTSD―why we must expand our understanding of the full psychological and spiritual impact of war’s invisible woundsArchetype of the warrior―service in combat as a “journey to the underworld,” and why the return home is the most crucial stageThe warrior’s path―timeless wisdom from tradition, classical philosophy, great leaders, and religious and mythological sourcesHow cultures around the world have welcomed home their returning warriors for centuries―and what we can learn from themThe warrior’s initiation―how the old self dies on the battlefield and a new, more mature self evolves in its placeRestoration―methods for overcoming disillusionment and soul-fatigue to restore the warrior’s sense of purpose, motivation, and connectionComing home―specific steps for reintegrating our warriors back into our families and communities Honor―how a warrior can retain personal integrity and self-respect even when they have participated in a war they don’t believe inForgiveness, reconciliation, and atonement―ways for warriors to close the circle and begin healing what was destroyed“This is not a hopeless situation,” states Dr. Tick. “Lifelong suffering after war is not inevitable if we understand war’s impact on the heart and soul, both for ourselves and our culture.” For veterans and those who wish to support them, Warrior’s Return offers step-by-step guidance for initiating our transformed warriors into valued members of our community―with an essential map for the hero’s journey home.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Soldier’s Heart. Visit soldiersheart.net.
328 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2014
37 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 28, 2018
Must-read for anyone working with, looking to support, or just interested in the impact of war on vets. I was gratified to see a point I've been making for years--that Native American culture has much to offer in terms of both preparing soldiers and re-i tegrating them--finally get some validation and application by white professionals. The book seems to define PTSD as only affecting soldiers, which is sort of fine since it's about soldiers, but this is inaccurate. Better to have come out and said, for the purposes of this book, we will look at PTSD only as it applies to veterans. The discussion is further weakened by its reliance on the Judeochristian tradition as it looks for healing mythologies and archetypes (exception: The Odyssey, but still solidly Western..though right on...I saw a one woman show in which a presumed war widow opens her door one day to find her husband on her door...missing on after 20 years from some unnamed war. He remembers nothing, not even her, only knows, somehow that this is home. She has been reading the Odyssey and for wont of anything else to do, begins reading it aloud to him. It becomes obvious that it is the story of a war hero's journey home through PTSD.) He values Native American traditions, but his attachment to the Bible is hard and fast. It's my understanding that this is a huge problem in the armed forces as well. There are Christian chaplains (mostly Protestant) and a few rabbis and that's it.
Anyway, the gist is that a large part of the PTSD resulting from war arises from a moral wound. There are a couple of dimensions to this. One is that it is morally demanding, no matter the cause, to kill human beings. Often, soldiers are unprepared for this and believe that their rightful human feelings make them cowardly. Upon return, attentive measures for healing must be taken. Second, war is a social contract, and if violated, the moral wound is deepened. This violation can occur in several ways. By devaluing the efforts of soldiers. By being unwilling to listen and try to understand what they went through. Worst of all, by asking them--not so much to risk their lives-- but to commit moral trespass for an unworthy cause. Finding out they're in Vietnam or Afghanistan or Iraq for a bullshit reason, for instance.
He says there's no PTSD in Vietnam among Vietnamese because of the confidence in the cause and the social reintegration...I doubted this, but I don't doubt that neglecting the moral harm to soldiers compounds PTSD.
Anyway, the gist is that a large part of the PTSD resulting from war arises from a moral wound. There are a couple of dimensions to this. One is that it is morally demanding, no matter the cause, to kill human beings. Often, soldiers are unprepared for this and believe that their rightful human feelings make them cowardly. Upon return, attentive measures for healing must be taken. Second, war is a social contract, and if violated, the moral wound is deepened. This violation can occur in several ways. By devaluing the efforts of soldiers. By being unwilling to listen and try to understand what they went through. Worst of all, by asking them--not so much to risk their lives-- but to commit moral trespass for an unworthy cause. Finding out they're in Vietnam or Afghanistan or Iraq for a bullshit reason, for instance.
He says there's no PTSD in Vietnam among Vietnamese because of the confidence in the cause and the social reintegration...I doubted this, but I don't doubt that neglecting the moral harm to soldiers compounds PTSD.
February 8, 2019
That war wounds the human soul has been understood for millennia. There are references in classical Greek literature, the Bible and any other number of sources across many cultures. Once this understanding meant that societies evolved traditions and ceremony to help those who served reintegrate into normal everyday life. The evolution of reductionist thinking in the west that saw the medicalization of expressions of the human should under the label of psychology/psychiatry coincided with the industrialization of slaughter, first during the American Civil War closely followed by World War 1. This need to cut, dissect, categorize, catalogue, define etc. all those responses so beloved by the scientific method removed any sense of the soul wound that has always been at the centre of frontline combat experience. The result has been the complete failure of society as a whole to take responsibility for its part in war making and the cost to those who have served and those who love them. It has been easier to lay that responsibility off onto the mental health industry and with a "Thank you for your service." from those who have sat at home to wash their hands of the whole mess Pilate like, relieved of any further need to be concerned. The mental health industry, the helpers approaching the issue form a medical point of view have simply succeeded in pathologizing suffering and treating those who have served the higher purpose on their behalf as victims, instituting learned helplessness in the place of resilience, competence, courage and honor. The whole mess now thrives on a perceived wisdom that these returned warriors are sick beyond help, open only to management by those same mental health professionals with medication and failed therapies.
Tick has lifted the veil at least and changed the emphasis. The answer is here, referring back to the traditions of our ancestors rather than the idiocy of doing the same things that have been done for a century and expecting a different result. The tragedy is the damage that is still being done in the name of "treatment", completely ineffective at best and totally destructive at worst no matter how well intended. For the sake of the thousands now emerging from the debacles of Iraq, Afghanistan and so many other lesser follies wake up! Let us not have this generation of veterans follow the same desolate path that we as veterans of Vietnam have been flogged along.
Tick has lifted the veil at least and changed the emphasis. The answer is here, referring back to the traditions of our ancestors rather than the idiocy of doing the same things that have been done for a century and expecting a different result. The tragedy is the damage that is still being done in the name of "treatment", completely ineffective at best and totally destructive at worst no matter how well intended. For the sake of the thousands now emerging from the debacles of Iraq, Afghanistan and so many other lesser follies wake up! Let us not have this generation of veterans follow the same desolate path that we as veterans of Vietnam have been flogged along.
May 29, 2018
This book completely changed how I view veterans and soldiers, in a good way. I fell into the trap described in this book in which I don't support the wars our country is fighting, and instead of blaming the people who create the wars, I also blame the vets and soldiers themselves, which is a wrong-headed way to view it. I now see it for how it is. The soldiers fight the battles, that's it. They don't get to choose the cause, they just sign up, often with the best of intentions. Then they become witness to the most horrific side of humanity. In that light, holding the war against the soldiers feels cruel. Especially considering the psychological side effects of going to war. To lump the disrespect or misunderstanding of the citizenry on top of the effects of war itself is debilitating and potentially enough for someone to kill themselves, via active or passive means.
This book also helped shine light on how I understand trauma in general.
In short, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Edward Tick for writing this and the person who suggested I read it. It shined a light on so many things I didn't understand.
This book also helped shine light on how I understand trauma in general.
In short, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Edward Tick for writing this and the person who suggested I read it. It shined a light on so many things I didn't understand.
August 28, 2017
A Vietnam veteran urged me several times to read “Warrior’s Return” by Edward Tick, a psychotherapist based in New York state who has worked with vets from several wars since the 1970s.
As America’s longest war grinds on, I’m glad I followed the advice of the vet who says Tick can help the rest of us understand what a tiny minority of our fellow citizens have taken on by going to war.
Tick writes with an academic’s thoroughness and grasp of history, with a humanitarian’s warmth and with great admiration for former warriors. In 2006, he and his wife and fellow therapist Kate Dahlstedt founded the nonprofit Soldier’s Heart in Troy, New York. Their organization offers therapeutic retreats and pilgrimages and guides meditation and other spiritual practices. It also connects community groups that reach out to veterans. In November, he will Soldier’s Heart’s 17th annual visit to Vietnam. He calls the trips, during which U.S. Vietnam vets meet their Vietnamese counterparts as well as Vietnamese civilians, healing journeys.
Tick has contemplated what must be done to heal the rift in the United States between civilians and veterans. He urges civilians to emulate the commitment to service he has seen in veterans, and express it by listening without judgment to their stories and recognizing they have sacrificed for society. Most importantly, Tick writes, Americans must acknowledge veterans’ need to continue to contribute.
Tick is concerned at what he sees as an increasing divide between those who fought and those who stayed home. Healing will require empathy across racial, ethnic and economic lines. Tick laments that: “less than 1 percent of eligible people serve; the country has become dependent on a volunteer force in which poor, disadvantaged, disenfranchised and unemployed recruits crowd the ranks. All are one within the military but many are the hurting among them, and few are the Americans who join or serve them.”
“What are warriors asking from their communities and society?” Tick writes. “To be seen as they are, for who they are, for what they gave, for their struggles now, and to be loved and honored for their unchanging essence of devotion and sacrifice.”
As America’s longest war grinds on, I’m glad I followed the advice of the vet who says Tick can help the rest of us understand what a tiny minority of our fellow citizens have taken on by going to war.
Tick writes with an academic’s thoroughness and grasp of history, with a humanitarian’s warmth and with great admiration for former warriors. In 2006, he and his wife and fellow therapist Kate Dahlstedt founded the nonprofit Soldier’s Heart in Troy, New York. Their organization offers therapeutic retreats and pilgrimages and guides meditation and other spiritual practices. It also connects community groups that reach out to veterans. In November, he will Soldier’s Heart’s 17th annual visit to Vietnam. He calls the trips, during which U.S. Vietnam vets meet their Vietnamese counterparts as well as Vietnamese civilians, healing journeys.
Tick has contemplated what must be done to heal the rift in the United States between civilians and veterans. He urges civilians to emulate the commitment to service he has seen in veterans, and express it by listening without judgment to their stories and recognizing they have sacrificed for society. Most importantly, Tick writes, Americans must acknowledge veterans’ need to continue to contribute.
Tick is concerned at what he sees as an increasing divide between those who fought and those who stayed home. Healing will require empathy across racial, ethnic and economic lines. Tick laments that: “less than 1 percent of eligible people serve; the country has become dependent on a volunteer force in which poor, disadvantaged, disenfranchised and unemployed recruits crowd the ranks. All are one within the military but many are the hurting among them, and few are the Americans who join or serve them.”
“What are warriors asking from their communities and society?” Tick writes. “To be seen as they are, for who they are, for what they gave, for their struggles now, and to be loved and honored for their unchanging essence of devotion and sacrifice.”
February 20, 2020
I thought it was well-written, concise, and filled with vivid description. However, I don’t agree with some of his points and ideas/thoughts, though I do like how thought-provoking they were. He is right in one aspect, veterans and those fighting for our country are not treated how they should be, especially by the citizens. We live in a bubble, and it’s no surprise most do not know how to talk with those with PTSD, or any kind really. I would recommend this book, but read it with a grain of salt, especially when it come to all of his statistics.
April 21, 2016
This book is a waste of time. It should give me a star for reading it. Basically it is a 300 page advertisement for the author's 'retreat'. The author talks endlessly about his self run retreat for veterans and how awesome it is. There is no other applicable advice to support a husband or loved one returning from war - except to attend the author's retreat. The word archetypal is used at least once per page and the author endlessly lists adjectives - it's annoying. This is repetitive drivel that doesn't help anyone except the author's own interests.
May 3, 2023
P. 15 'In brief, Warriorhood is a state of mind, hart, and spirit match with a set of practical and physical arts that include knowledge and training in how to kill and are guided in action by a high moral code, used to protect one's people, homes, and highest values, and meant to serve and preserve life.'
P. 16 'Contemporary warrior station both replicates these universal dimensions and is uniquely challenging. Military service is one of the few roads to initiation into and training for responsible adulthood left in modern society. The military often serves well as institution in which young women and men, many displaced or wounded from childhood, learn and practice response adult citizenship. This replicates the universal purpose of warrior initiation.'
P. 54 'Warriors return transformed, both wounded and enlightened, displaced, and confused regering civilian life. They also return matured, skilled, and experienced in the ways of surviving in hell.'
P. 70 'The citizenry's tas is to protect devoted warriors from serving cause that betray their conferences.'
P. 106 'Veterans will walk through hell with someone who gets it because they trust that that person would remain by their side in the real hell of war.'
P. 123 'When ultimate requirements are put on us -killing and dying- we must be spiritually and philosophically supported -not just with arms, equipment, and Christmas packages- by the country and people in whose name we act.'
P. 125 'Honor is the spiritual glue that holds the character together, protects and uplifts it. Around the world the opportunity to achieve or defend honor was and still is a principel reason for going to war.' [..]'Honor requires truth; to deny war's truths deprives its survivors of honor.'
P. 130 'To restore our warriors we must restore core values that are not just American but essential to the succes of any culture. Truth, trust, faith, integrity, courage, self-sacrifice-warriors are asked to give these to the utmost. They must experience the same from us in return.'
P. 144 'From the perspective of the soul, the wounded person is stuck in hell and awash in destruction and death. Anyone in this condition needs rebirth. [..] Wounded souls can be healed through initiation and guided to rebirth.'
P. 154 'Since "war is hell" and veterans are people who have returned from that diabolical realm, sould wounding is not only inevitable but also proof of the warrior's humanity. After surviving hell, can we expect "normalcy"?'
P. 172 '[..] return is the most difficult part of the journey. We have changed, but others have not. We cannot return to who we were, but others want us to.'
The necessary steps of warrior return
P. 206 1: isolation and tending
P. 208 2: acceptance of Warrior Destiny
P. 210 3: purification and cleansing
P. 211 4: storytelling and confession
P. 212 5: restitution in the community
P. 214 6: initation
P. 234 'Meaning resides not in seeking civilian goals and satisfactions, but in authentic warrior values and service. We cannot deal with death or offer our own lives in a vacuum or to an absurdity. Time in the valley of the shadow, the deaths of our friends and all others have to mean something; in order to emerge we must render them meaningful.'
P. 16 'Contemporary warrior station both replicates these universal dimensions and is uniquely challenging. Military service is one of the few roads to initiation into and training for responsible adulthood left in modern society. The military often serves well as institution in which young women and men, many displaced or wounded from childhood, learn and practice response adult citizenship. This replicates the universal purpose of warrior initiation.'
P. 54 'Warriors return transformed, both wounded and enlightened, displaced, and confused regering civilian life. They also return matured, skilled, and experienced in the ways of surviving in hell.'
P. 70 'The citizenry's tas is to protect devoted warriors from serving cause that betray their conferences.'
P. 106 'Veterans will walk through hell with someone who gets it because they trust that that person would remain by their side in the real hell of war.'
P. 123 'When ultimate requirements are put on us -killing and dying- we must be spiritually and philosophically supported -not just with arms, equipment, and Christmas packages- by the country and people in whose name we act.'
P. 125 'Honor is the spiritual glue that holds the character together, protects and uplifts it. Around the world the opportunity to achieve or defend honor was and still is a principel reason for going to war.' [..]'Honor requires truth; to deny war's truths deprives its survivors of honor.'
P. 130 'To restore our warriors we must restore core values that are not just American but essential to the succes of any culture. Truth, trust, faith, integrity, courage, self-sacrifice-warriors are asked to give these to the utmost. They must experience the same from us in return.'
P. 144 'From the perspective of the soul, the wounded person is stuck in hell and awash in destruction and death. Anyone in this condition needs rebirth. [..] Wounded souls can be healed through initiation and guided to rebirth.'
P. 154 'Since "war is hell" and veterans are people who have returned from that diabolical realm, sould wounding is not only inevitable but also proof of the warrior's humanity. After surviving hell, can we expect "normalcy"?'
P. 172 '[..] return is the most difficult part of the journey. We have changed, but others have not. We cannot return to who we were, but others want us to.'
The necessary steps of warrior return
P. 206 1: isolation and tending
P. 208 2: acceptance of Warrior Destiny
P. 210 3: purification and cleansing
P. 211 4: storytelling and confession
P. 212 5: restitution in the community
P. 214 6: initation
P. 234 'Meaning resides not in seeking civilian goals and satisfactions, but in authentic warrior values and service. We cannot deal with death or offer our own lives in a vacuum or to an absurdity. Time in the valley of the shadow, the deaths of our friends and all others have to mean something; in order to emerge we must render them meaningful.'
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2019
This book was so on point! I love the ways in which Dr. Tick works with warriors to help guide and encourage their own healing. Our warriors deserve the utmost care and effort for the burden they bear for our society. I love the inclusion of traditional cultures and how those rituals and traditions help prevent PTSD in their returning warriors. Warriors are not broken. They do not need to be fixed. What they do need is to be welcomed home, listened to, honored for their efforts. This book was excellent, insightful and inspired.
October 21, 2017
Tick share's thoughtful and thought-provoking ideas, but I wished the book had been better organized. We seem to cover the same ideas over and over again without ever being offered real suggestions for ways we as a society can help combat vets return.
May 8, 2021
Great Read!
Used for Dissertation and Great Read on its own!
Used for Dissertation and Great Read on its own!
May 4, 2025
This is a must read for any military chaplain or spiritual leader shepherding people through their soul wound from war.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews