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What Have We Done: The Moral Injury of Our Longest Wars
From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Wood, a battlefield view of moral injury, the signature wound of America's 21st century wars.
Most Americans are now familiar with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its prevalence among troops. In this groundbreaking new book, David Wood examines the far more pervasive yet less understood experience of those we send to war: moral injury, the violation of our fundamental values of right and wrong that so often occurs in the impossible moral dilemmas of modern conflict. Featuring portraits of combat veterans and leading mental health researchers, along with Wood's personal observations of war and the young Americans deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, WHAT HAVE WE DONE offers an unflinching look at war and those who volunteer for it: the thrill and pride of service and, too often, the scars of moral injury.
Impeccably researched and deeply personal, WHAT HAVE WE DONE is a compassionate, finely drawn study of modern war and those caught up in it. It is a call to acknowledge our newest generation of veterans by listening intently to them and absorbing their stories; and, as new wars approach, to ponder the inevitable human costs of putting American "boots on the ground."
Most Americans are now familiar with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its prevalence among troops. In this groundbreaking new book, David Wood examines the far more pervasive yet less understood experience of those we send to war: moral injury, the violation of our fundamental values of right and wrong that so often occurs in the impossible moral dilemmas of modern conflict. Featuring portraits of combat veterans and leading mental health researchers, along with Wood's personal observations of war and the young Americans deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, WHAT HAVE WE DONE offers an unflinching look at war and those who volunteer for it: the thrill and pride of service and, too often, the scars of moral injury.
Impeccably researched and deeply personal, WHAT HAVE WE DONE is a compassionate, finely drawn study of modern war and those caught up in it. It is a call to acknowledge our newest generation of veterans by listening intently to them and absorbing their stories; and, as new wars approach, to ponder the inevitable human costs of putting American "boots on the ground."
291 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2016
75 people are currently reading
1076 people want to read
About the author
David Wood
1 book4 followersDavid Wood, a veteran war reporter, is a staff correspondent for the Huffington Post, where he won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting on severely wounded warriors. A birthright Quaker and raised as a pacifist, Wood has spent more than thirty years covering the US military and conflicts around the world, most recently in extended deployments embedded with American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
December 10, 2017
Page 142 (my book)
War makes us killers. We must confront this horror directly if we’re to be honest about the true cost of war...I’m no longer the “good” person I once thought I was. Timothy Kudo, U.S. Marine Corps, served in Iraq and Afghanistan
This book outlines the moral consequences of war on the participating soldiers. It is concerned only with the impact on U.S. soldiers.
We have all heard of PTSD, but the author makes a convincing case that much more is going on, he calls this “moral injury”. In a sense PTSD is a subset of moral injury.
Page 250
... they [behavioral therapists] came up with a new definition of “moral injury”:
The lasting psychological, biological, spiritual, and social impact of perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.
War transfigures. There is behaviour during war at inverse to “normal society”. This is why many soldiers re-enlist. They no longer feel they fit in “normal society”; they want to go back and re-capture the soldierly environment. This re-enlistment also contributes to moral injury. The longer you are “over there”, the more your behavior becomes re-wired. As the author, and many others have pointed out, war will be the hi-light of life, it eclipses all else. Robert Fisk also said “that war is the total failure of the human spirit”.
Page 229 a recruit returning home
“it was like ‘Okay, here are your papers, grab your stuff and get on the bus and go home,’” he said. “I was sitting there with my duffel bag, thinking that yesterday I was a battalion commander. Now I’m just another joe on the bus.”
The book contains many strong ideas and there are poignant renderings of conversations with soldiers re-counting their experiences.
But, I found the flow of the book disorganized, plus it was repetitive.
Topics are discussed back and forth without continuity. For example there are intermingled conversations with soldiers at war or back home. These should have been separated; I would have liked to have known the distinction between these two phases – at war and back home.
Also interspersed through all this is a history of the “therapy” used to “help” returning troops readjust – from World War I, to Vietnam, and our current era.
I also take strong issue with “forgiving” which the author repeatedly refers to. During therapy, or over conversations – some soldiers claimed to have found self-forgiveness. In therapy other participants (soldiers) would “forgive them”. Forgiveness is an act bestowed by the victim (or the victim’s family members) if possible. Having un-related people, in a therapy session for example, grant forgiveness rings hollow. Self-forgiveness seems a psychological coping mechanism – or a form of denial. What right does one have to forgive oneself for outrages against a victim(s); one example given was the beating of a prisoner.
The author also uses the word “healing”. I much prefer this. One has to go through a moral healing – which may take several years.
Importantly the author mentions that some soldiers successfully readjust back to a “normal routine”. He feels these individuals should also be studied, interviewed for example, to how they did it – in order to help those who are not adapting.
This is an interesting book with the above limitations.
War makes us killers. We must confront this horror directly if we’re to be honest about the true cost of war...I’m no longer the “good” person I once thought I was. Timothy Kudo, U.S. Marine Corps, served in Iraq and Afghanistan
This book outlines the moral consequences of war on the participating soldiers. It is concerned only with the impact on U.S. soldiers.
We have all heard of PTSD, but the author makes a convincing case that much more is going on, he calls this “moral injury”. In a sense PTSD is a subset of moral injury.
Page 250
... they [behavioral therapists] came up with a new definition of “moral injury”:
The lasting psychological, biological, spiritual, and social impact of perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.
War transfigures. There is behaviour during war at inverse to “normal society”. This is why many soldiers re-enlist. They no longer feel they fit in “normal society”; they want to go back and re-capture the soldierly environment. This re-enlistment also contributes to moral injury. The longer you are “over there”, the more your behavior becomes re-wired. As the author, and many others have pointed out, war will be the hi-light of life, it eclipses all else. Robert Fisk also said “that war is the total failure of the human spirit”.
Page 229 a recruit returning home
“it was like ‘Okay, here are your papers, grab your stuff and get on the bus and go home,’” he said. “I was sitting there with my duffel bag, thinking that yesterday I was a battalion commander. Now I’m just another joe on the bus.”
The book contains many strong ideas and there are poignant renderings of conversations with soldiers re-counting their experiences.
But, I found the flow of the book disorganized, plus it was repetitive.
Topics are discussed back and forth without continuity. For example there are intermingled conversations with soldiers at war or back home. These should have been separated; I would have liked to have known the distinction between these two phases – at war and back home.
Also interspersed through all this is a history of the “therapy” used to “help” returning troops readjust – from World War I, to Vietnam, and our current era.
I also take strong issue with “forgiving” which the author repeatedly refers to. During therapy, or over conversations – some soldiers claimed to have found self-forgiveness. In therapy other participants (soldiers) would “forgive them”. Forgiveness is an act bestowed by the victim (or the victim’s family members) if possible. Having un-related people, in a therapy session for example, grant forgiveness rings hollow. Self-forgiveness seems a psychological coping mechanism – or a form of denial. What right does one have to forgive oneself for outrages against a victim(s); one example given was the beating of a prisoner.
The author also uses the word “healing”. I much prefer this. One has to go through a moral healing – which may take several years.
Importantly the author mentions that some soldiers successfully readjust back to a “normal routine”. He feels these individuals should also be studied, interviewed for example, to how they did it – in order to help those who are not adapting.
This is an interesting book with the above limitations.
June 3, 2019
There was a time when I was Sgt. Taylor of the 2BCT, 502nd Infantry (o' deuce), 101st Airborne of the US Army. I served for 6 years in and out of some the worst places imaginable and never gave a second thought of my PTSD. I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic and Major Depressive Disorder that tore my life to pieces. It took time, patience, and lot of love to get me out of my hole and there are some of my brothers and sisters are still there. This book gives my memories a new life and takes me right back to the places I stood, lived, and breathed in the arms of this country's finest Army.
It is a good book, it reminds me that sometimes we need to care more for the people who fight the wars instead of the wars themselves. I am not anti-war, I am anti-losing those I loved and cared for during my time. We go there as one person, we leave as many. Their voices live on in me. Their families will always have my support until we meet again on the other side.
I wish I could give it 5 stars, but my mind just does not want me to on the basis of how clinical it all makes the process seem. "Moral injuries" should now be listed with TBI/PTSD and I have had many that will never heal. I want them to find a way to fix this, but I know they cannot so it is up to me.
If you know someone who has served, even if for a day and never left the confines of the US borders; never forget that many of them made a choice to sacrifice themselves for a goal that you may never understand. Love them, respect them, and let them know you have their back (six)
It is a good book, it reminds me that sometimes we need to care more for the people who fight the wars instead of the wars themselves. I am not anti-war, I am anti-losing those I loved and cared for during my time. We go there as one person, we leave as many. Their voices live on in me. Their families will always have my support until we meet again on the other side.
I wish I could give it 5 stars, but my mind just does not want me to on the basis of how clinical it all makes the process seem. "Moral injuries" should now be listed with TBI/PTSD and I have had many that will never heal. I want them to find a way to fix this, but I know they cannot so it is up to me.
If you know someone who has served, even if for a day and never left the confines of the US borders; never forget that many of them made a choice to sacrifice themselves for a goal that you may never understand. Love them, respect them, and let them know you have their back (six)
January 29, 2023
David Wood’s premise for this book is that there is a massive, unspoken malady that afflicts many of our servicemen and -women who came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Something called “moral injury.” By the time I put the book down, I was fairly convinced he is correct.
First he untangles moral injury from PTSD. They are two different things that have been confused because the symptoms are similar. But where one is a triggered physiological response (PTSD), the topic of this book discusses the idea that moral injury is the lasting harm when someone carries the memory of an action or decision that makes them feel they are an irredeemably bad person. Examples could be: not giving a thirsty man water as he lay dying because you don’t want to get shot; refraining from engaging possible insurgents for fear of killing civilians, only for those insurgents to then kill some of your buddies; firing a rocket into a building insurgents are shooting from, only to find women and children used as human shields inside. The kind of no-win moral conundrum thousands of military members must face.
Wood explores this concept of moral injury through the eyes of army and marine fighters he embedded with; clinicians who seek to define and treat the injury; pastors and chaplains home and abroad who have attempted to help and comfort these soldiers; and his own personal moral injury experiences as a war journalist. It is a fascinating angle and one I’d never really considered, strangely. That wars, particularly the amoebic 21st century wars without clear objectives and make Geneva convention stipulations seem quaint, are ripping apart our young soldiers moral strength. They betray their most important inner moral codes and forever feel shame. It seems obvious but this book goes into the details of why and how it’s not quite so simple. Because what do we do? Which brings me to the title.
What Have We Done is a sadly bombastic title for a book that covers such a topic. I get the levels of meaning behind it now that I’ve read it, but I fear the accusatory tone might prevent people who could do good with this book from ever picking it up. “What do we do?” That is the focus of this book, and the answers require reading it to fully grasp the issue. Which I highly recommend, it could help you help someone else.
First he untangles moral injury from PTSD. They are two different things that have been confused because the symptoms are similar. But where one is a triggered physiological response (PTSD), the topic of this book discusses the idea that moral injury is the lasting harm when someone carries the memory of an action or decision that makes them feel they are an irredeemably bad person. Examples could be: not giving a thirsty man water as he lay dying because you don’t want to get shot; refraining from engaging possible insurgents for fear of killing civilians, only for those insurgents to then kill some of your buddies; firing a rocket into a building insurgents are shooting from, only to find women and children used as human shields inside. The kind of no-win moral conundrum thousands of military members must face.
Wood explores this concept of moral injury through the eyes of army and marine fighters he embedded with; clinicians who seek to define and treat the injury; pastors and chaplains home and abroad who have attempted to help and comfort these soldiers; and his own personal moral injury experiences as a war journalist. It is a fascinating angle and one I’d never really considered, strangely. That wars, particularly the amoebic 21st century wars without clear objectives and make Geneva convention stipulations seem quaint, are ripping apart our young soldiers moral strength. They betray their most important inner moral codes and forever feel shame. It seems obvious but this book goes into the details of why and how it’s not quite so simple. Because what do we do? Which brings me to the title.
What Have We Done is a sadly bombastic title for a book that covers such a topic. I get the levels of meaning behind it now that I’ve read it, but I fear the accusatory tone might prevent people who could do good with this book from ever picking it up. “What do we do?” That is the focus of this book, and the answers require reading it to fully grasp the issue. Which I highly recommend, it could help you help someone else.
February 21, 2017
Wood draws on Jonathan Shay's notion of "moral injuries" -- psychic wounds, as distinguished from the more physiological understanding of wartime trauma encompassed by PTSD -- and deepens our awareness of the pain that veterans of long, bad wars endure. It's not what was done to them so much as living with themselves after what they did, knowing that they violated their own standards of right and wrong, that drives their despair.
Only at the very end of the book do we learn about efforts to heal these wounds, and owing to the anecdotal nature of the entire book, this portion struck me as the least satisfying.
Only at the very end of the book do we learn about efforts to heal these wounds, and owing to the anecdotal nature of the entire book, this portion struck me as the least satisfying.
March 21, 2017
Everyone should read this book, because as Wood explains, everyone in America shares in the moral injuries cause by our longest wars. As a wife of a combat veteran. I can't say how helpful this book was in understanding the moral injury my husband carries. Moral injury is this giant missing piece of the puzzle to understanding the struggles of our veterans. After reading this book, it becomes clear how narrow, how insufficient and insulting PTSD diagnosis and treatment are to the full picture of what soldiers bring back from war. The moral component of their experience must be addressed. As one of Wood's chapters is titled: "It's about killing," and treatment designed to help someone overcome the trauma of a car accident is not going to be sufficient to address the moral injury of killing. Wood exposes how the DOD obscures that this is the purpose of war--killing--and how their euphemism and denials leave soldiers woefully unprepared to deal with moral fallout of the central project of war--mass, state-sanctioned killing. I could hardly get through a chapter without crying, but I can't say how helpful this book is to me, and anyone who cares about our veterans. If you actually care, save your "thank yous," read this book, and be willing to bear witness and LISTEN.
December 12, 2024
I had literally never come across the term "moral injury" until I read this book, so I have Wood to thank for that exposure. Unlike PTSD which focuses on fear-related symptoms, moral injuries are more centered on guilt, shame, anger, and disgust, and both PTSD and moral injuries often have overlapping symptoms, which has led to some of the inability of psychologists in diagnosing it. I found this book really fascinating as the author really tried to dig into the various military personnel and their reactions to actually killing someone, as well as the issues specifically with the Afghanistan and Iraq wars where insurgency and guerillas has often meant that Americans are often put in positions where they kill child soldiers or civilians (or to degenerate even further in terms of torture like Abu Ghraib). While Wood eventually pins down some issues the rest of US society can participate in to help US soldiers, I mainly just got mad all over again at the Bush administration who put these young men and women in the position to to this harm to Afghanistanis and Iraqis as to their own consciences; an oft-repeated point is how those Americans on the ground were forced through complex moral and legal rules even at low-ranks instead of the actual high-ranked officers whose responsibility it was--Abu Ghraib for example, is a prime example of only the low-ranked personnel getting punished, unlike the people responsible for them--so much for where the buck stops. (I do think Wood got a little simplistic with just war theory mentioned a few times, since he's often using the Bush administration's own framing about it, vs. actual international law issues, but it's really only an instance of the difficulties for military personnel and the real "just war" stuff is too abstract for most of this.)
I read this as part of my personal project to read Dayton Literary Peace Prize winners. This book was the 2017 Nonfiction Winner. This is definitely a good fit for the theme, especially with the focus on soldiers' consciences and the moral injuries to them. It definitely gave me a new perspective on the stress and difficulty, and I can only hope the field of study on moral injuries keeps developing to help the military as long as they're fighting in such conflicts. Though ideally, we wouldn't be fighting such dumb wars and be able to focus more on peaceful processes...
I read this as part of my personal project to read Dayton Literary Peace Prize winners. This book was the 2017 Nonfiction Winner. This is definitely a good fit for the theme, especially with the focus on soldiers' consciences and the moral injuries to them. It definitely gave me a new perspective on the stress and difficulty, and I can only hope the field of study on moral injuries keeps developing to help the military as long as they're fighting in such conflicts. Though ideally, we wouldn't be fighting such dumb wars and be able to focus more on peaceful processes...
September 25, 2025
War requires that those who fight do what nearly every culture and religion considers to be terrible evil. They see sights that never leave the mind no matter how much you wish they would. Whatever country (or political party) we are from, we should demand that our leaders be more careful about sending the youngest members of society into battle. It is beyond dispute that when we send men and women to fight, many will come back scarred and broken in ways that are hard (even impossible) for those who have not been there to understand. I only had one relatively easy deployment to Afghanistan. But 12 years later, I still think about it almost daily. Think about the much greater impact for those with multiple combat deployments. I personally know Marines who deployed 5+ times to Iraq and Afghanistan. Many were forever changed by their experience: what they saw, did, or even failed to do.
While I don't necessarily agree with every conclusion in this book, I still give it 5 stars for tackling an extremely difficult subject that needs to be talked about. It does a good job portraying the horrible decisions required of those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and the impact those decisions still have on their minds and souls. It is not an easy read. It shouldn't be. But if you vote, or if you know veterans of these (or other) wars, please consider reading it anyway.
While I don't necessarily agree with every conclusion in this book, I still give it 5 stars for tackling an extremely difficult subject that needs to be talked about. It does a good job portraying the horrible decisions required of those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and the impact those decisions still have on their minds and souls. It is not an easy read. It shouldn't be. But if you vote, or if you know veterans of these (or other) wars, please consider reading it anyway.
March 1, 2017
For me, this book now ranks in my canon of seminal works about the combat experience, and the experience of veteran homecoming. I consider this to rank with Odysseus in America, War and the Soul, and Stoic Warriors. Building on his Pulitzer-prize winning series about moral injury, this book is the most comprehensive and profound exploration of the 21st century recognition of an ancient phenomenon. Thank goodness that David Wood, a long time combat correspondent, based on a career of seeing soldiers in combat, recognized the phenomenon in our post 9/11 veterans. I saw David speak at UConn, and speaking to him afterwards, we realized that he was embedded with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit when I was with them in 1993-1994. He gets it, truly. This is a compelling read elegantly written and presented with great compassion.
For me, my own recovery has followed a very specific structure - at each stage, informed by the books in my canon. The first stage was physical recovery from my wounds, and stabilizing my physical condition. During this time, I first became acquainted with Shays' Odysseus in America. That basically gave me a map for what to expect in my own homecoming journey.
The second stage was psychological recovery. This took many years of hard work to work through the effects of PTS and TBI. During this time, it was Edward Tick's War and the Soul, and Nancy Sherman's Stoic Warriors, that served as guideposts for my therapy. I found cognitive behavioral therapy to be extremely helpful, and began writing about my experiences. I attended also the NYU Veterans Writers Workshop. The writer's workshop gave me tools to process and articulate my experiences of combat and homecoming.
Most recently, in the past year and 1/2, my recovery has taken a decidedly spiritual turn. I have found a faith community that helps. I see in What Have We Done? the questions and themes of dealing with the moral component of war, and recovering from moral injury. I know I have used this exact phrase in talking about my combat experiences. This is an area where conventional modalities of healing and reintegration fail many veterans, leaving them to try to figure it out on their own. Some do; many don't.
What Have We Done? is both invaluable, and a value-added contribution to the dialogue our nation is having about the long-term effects of war, and how best to deal with the men and women who fight on behalf of our nation. Although, US specific, I truly believe this is a universal phenomenon, and is a reflection of the human condition. I can attest I saw the effects of moral injury among the Iraqi soldiers I worked with.
As such, I believe David Wood's book will become one of the time-tested classics of the generational dialogue about war, trauma, and its effects.
Enthusiastically recommended. Must read.
For me, my own recovery has followed a very specific structure - at each stage, informed by the books in my canon. The first stage was physical recovery from my wounds, and stabilizing my physical condition. During this time, I first became acquainted with Shays' Odysseus in America. That basically gave me a map for what to expect in my own homecoming journey.
The second stage was psychological recovery. This took many years of hard work to work through the effects of PTS and TBI. During this time, it was Edward Tick's War and the Soul, and Nancy Sherman's Stoic Warriors, that served as guideposts for my therapy. I found cognitive behavioral therapy to be extremely helpful, and began writing about my experiences. I attended also the NYU Veterans Writers Workshop. The writer's workshop gave me tools to process and articulate my experiences of combat and homecoming.
Most recently, in the past year and 1/2, my recovery has taken a decidedly spiritual turn. I have found a faith community that helps. I see in What Have We Done? the questions and themes of dealing with the moral component of war, and recovering from moral injury. I know I have used this exact phrase in talking about my combat experiences. This is an area where conventional modalities of healing and reintegration fail many veterans, leaving them to try to figure it out on their own. Some do; many don't.
What Have We Done? is both invaluable, and a value-added contribution to the dialogue our nation is having about the long-term effects of war, and how best to deal with the men and women who fight on behalf of our nation. Although, US specific, I truly believe this is a universal phenomenon, and is a reflection of the human condition. I can attest I saw the effects of moral injury among the Iraqi soldiers I worked with.
As such, I believe David Wood's book will become one of the time-tested classics of the generational dialogue about war, trauma, and its effects.
Enthusiastically recommended. Must read.
February 5, 2017
I really hope that David Wood was able to send copies of this book to every senator, representative, and other officials that are so eager to constantly send our military to war. I think they should open their eyes to the reality of what they are doing to these men and women that have to come back and suffer because there is not enough widespread care and treatments for their mental ailments.
When I saw this book, I was intriqued about what it would entail because I am against the wars that seem to be everlasting. At first, I didn't think I was going to make it through the entire book. Wood introduces us to a couple of military men and they seem cocky towards the general population at first. Yet, upon learning more about their personal experiences and how they have trouble finding positive outlets when then come home, is heart wrenching. Wood describes the horror these men and women experience - and how alone they feel - because the politicians just keep engaging in wars that seem pointless and nobody at home can understand them because they have never had the experiences they have.
Wood's main point is that we never consider the psyhcological harm of war - asking human beings to put aside their morals and kill... and be okay with that.
"This is why the ancients devised complex rituals of cleansing and forgiveness for their returning warriors, recognizing that the moral damge of war was inevitable and allowing for the healing, of both warrior and his society, to take place."
Wood goes on to discuss some of the trauma treatment that some professionals have devised - but these methods need to be taught at a national level, and right now they are only localized.
Overall, I appreciated this book and everything it stood for. It wasn't politically charged - it was honest..
When I saw this book, I was intriqued about what it would entail because I am against the wars that seem to be everlasting. At first, I didn't think I was going to make it through the entire book. Wood introduces us to a couple of military men and they seem cocky towards the general population at first. Yet, upon learning more about their personal experiences and how they have trouble finding positive outlets when then come home, is heart wrenching. Wood describes the horror these men and women experience - and how alone they feel - because the politicians just keep engaging in wars that seem pointless and nobody at home can understand them because they have never had the experiences they have.
Wood's main point is that we never consider the psyhcological harm of war - asking human beings to put aside their morals and kill... and be okay with that.
"This is why the ancients devised complex rituals of cleansing and forgiveness for their returning warriors, recognizing that the moral damge of war was inevitable and allowing for the healing, of both warrior and his society, to take place."
Wood goes on to discuss some of the trauma treatment that some professionals have devised - but these methods need to be taught at a national level, and right now they are only localized.
Overall, I appreciated this book and everything it stood for. It wasn't politically charged - it was honest..
March 3, 2019
A compelling, but incomplete theory on moral injury. The concept intuitively makes sense and the author's extensive experience in war zones makes him an authority. But the science on this incomplete. At its best, the book makes a good argument for more investment and research on the subject. But at the end, the author takes a strange turn that boils down to "The government/military is never going to take this seriously, so it's up to us as individuals." A crisis of the breadth the author is suggesting will need government intervention, so from a policy standpoint, the last chapter feels defeatist. The best parts of the book are the analysis of the experimental therapies to combat moral injury, as well as the analysis of why the prevailing therapies to address PTSD can be counter-productive when applied to moral injuries. The blow-by-blow war scenes that make up the bulk of the book are extremely well-written and absolutely horrifying. But there are ultimately too many of them, vignette after vignette taking us away from answering the question 'What should be done about this next?' Some should be read, however, because as we pull away from the initial years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, we risk forgetting how horrifying they are for every singe person involved in any way.
May 5, 2018
This is a must read.
Because the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are our responsibility. What has happened to our soldiers, and what they have done, is our responsibility.
I became interested in the concept of moral injury a while ago, but it was after reading Sandhya Jha's Transforming Communities and seeing this as a reference that I found this book.
I read this as a reference for the military sci-fi that I like to read and write, but also as a pastor who has counseled soldiers before deployment (and now realizing that I did a terrible job and didn't follow up as I should have) as well as young widows. I wish I had this book before. I got it from the library, but before finishing I ordered a copy because I will refer to this book often, so I don't forget.
Because the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are our responsibility. What has happened to our soldiers, and what they have done, is our responsibility.
I became interested in the concept of moral injury a while ago, but it was after reading Sandhya Jha's Transforming Communities and seeing this as a reference that I found this book.
I read this as a reference for the military sci-fi that I like to read and write, but also as a pastor who has counseled soldiers before deployment (and now realizing that I did a terrible job and didn't follow up as I should have) as well as young widows. I wish I had this book before. I got it from the library, but before finishing I ordered a copy because I will refer to this book often, so I don't forget.
December 11, 2023
My husband fought in Afghanistan between 2012-2014. He mentioned being a veteran in his dating profile, but as we got to know each other, I learned that his time in the military was something I shouldn’t dig into. That was fine by me. I’ve had enough family members serve and was accustomed to the topic of their time overseas being off limits. David Wood, not only brings first hand experience, but also experts from all sides-breaking down Moral Injury from PTSD. He interviews family members who had sons & daughters serve, chaplains, psychologists, government workers, researchers, statistics, and a plethora of first hand accounts from veterans dating back to WWII. This book has given me insight on how to be a better listener & supporter to my husband for the time he has opened up, and prepare for future. I have a newfound, deeper respect for our troops & their families and know what I can do to help and serve them, when they come home.
August 12, 2024
This book should be a must read for military members and families. The passage does not just pin symptoms to PTSD, which is a common diagnosis for military members who have experienced significant events, but explains the concept of moral injury and the psychological toll that it has on a veteran. It explains the bonds the military enriches service members with and blessings and sorrows that come with such relationships.
The book provides an abundance of data to back up its arguments and points and of course, quoted interviews from veterans who live with moral injury and post traumatic stress disorders. The personal interviews bring the book to life and help with application.
This is a book that should not collect dust. Everyone with a family member or loved one who has been through combat should be familiar with this piece.
The book provides an abundance of data to back up its arguments and points and of course, quoted interviews from veterans who live with moral injury and post traumatic stress disorders. The personal interviews bring the book to life and help with application.
This is a book that should not collect dust. Everyone with a family member or loved one who has been through combat should be familiar with this piece.
November 5, 2017
Powerful. Glad it was nominated and won a Dayton Literary Peace Prize Award. Before finishing this, I was completely unfamiliar with the concept of moral harm. Very insightful and eye opening. The narration provided a very easy Audible listening experience. We have got to come together as a country and be more supportive and helpful to those that serve our country.
July 10, 2019
This book does an incredible job explaining the emotions and challenges that come with moral injury. Wood also does a great service by showing how moral injury differs from post-traumatic stress, and how the feelings of moral injury can be much more complicated to deal with. Highly recommended for anyone seriously interested in understanding what has been asked of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
April 12, 2022
This is a worthy topic. Sadly the book so utterly lacked structure that starting each chapter and being hit by a new wave of traumatic anecdotes started to feel pointless about halfway in. The last chapter has something of a conclusion, but it is a difficult ride to get there.
November 27, 2021
"When I came home, people were afraid to ask me about the experience. Because they were afraid it would disturb me. But I found it more disturbing to have that significant part of my life ignored."
Oh wow, this was a book I needed to read. It validated a lot of things but I think it would be even more helpful for people you aren't veterans themselves but who have veteran loved ones. This book could help a family understand why those things are difficult and could help the veteran work through their own moral injuries. This gets a strong recommendation from me and it's especially timely now, as we've just left Afghanistan.
Oh wow, this was a book I needed to read. It validated a lot of things but I think it would be even more helpful for people you aren't veterans themselves but who have veteran loved ones. This book could help a family understand why those things are difficult and could help the veteran work through their own moral injuries. This gets a strong recommendation from me and it's especially timely now, as we've just left Afghanistan.
October 16, 2021
Moral injury refers to situations whereby an individual transgresses their sense of morality, ethics or values, to achieve a real or perceived necessity, but which ultimately elicits in a profound sense of ambivalence, guilt and shame in it’s aftermath.
The quintessential example involves combat personnel who must kill in order to fulfill their duty.
As we are all too aware, people who survive that double bind can be haunted by debilitating cognitive dissonance and subsequent emotional dysregulation.
This type of moral wound is increasingly considered distinct from conventional PTSD diagnosis, which is more closely associated with the biological, psychological and social after effects of exposure to fear and danger.
This distinction is helpful in differentiating the complex experience of combat veterans (and the like) from people who suffer other kinds of crisis, trauma and disaster.
As it turns out, individuals with the moral injury component don’t always respond well to conventional PTSD treatment, and frequently need additional attention and support in this domain in order to fully recover.
The construct moral injury is becoming increasingly relevant in the aftermath of the protracted conflicts in the Middle East.
Many combatants involved in these campaigns feel that they were conducted under false premises, and were additionally tainted by ignoble domestic and geopolitical political motivations, and ultimately question the meaning and validity of the mission.
These types of ambivalences and uncertainties can amplify the moral injury suffered by combatants.
Other examples include healthcare professionals who have to make life and death treatment decisions based on administrative or financially oriented criteria rather than based on best practices.
This double bind can lead to severe burnout, and helps explain the recent high rates of resignation and even suicide in the healthcare and helping professions, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is viewed by many as largely preventable in hindsight.
This particular book is almost entirely focused on combat veteran’s of the protracted conflict in Afghanistan.
The text is littered with the utterly tragic experiences of people who were put into dangerous situations, and had to make extremely difficult and complex moral and ethical decisions in life or death situations.
Many of these individuals were teenagers or in their early 20s, and who were as such, developmentally or otherwise unprepared for these types of responsibilities and experiences.
This book is a tragic and powerful eye-opening introduction to this important and timely issue.
5/5
The quintessential example involves combat personnel who must kill in order to fulfill their duty.
As we are all too aware, people who survive that double bind can be haunted by debilitating cognitive dissonance and subsequent emotional dysregulation.
This type of moral wound is increasingly considered distinct from conventional PTSD diagnosis, which is more closely associated with the biological, psychological and social after effects of exposure to fear and danger.
This distinction is helpful in differentiating the complex experience of combat veterans (and the like) from people who suffer other kinds of crisis, trauma and disaster.
As it turns out, individuals with the moral injury component don’t always respond well to conventional PTSD treatment, and frequently need additional attention and support in this domain in order to fully recover.
The construct moral injury is becoming increasingly relevant in the aftermath of the protracted conflicts in the Middle East.
Many combatants involved in these campaigns feel that they were conducted under false premises, and were additionally tainted by ignoble domestic and geopolitical political motivations, and ultimately question the meaning and validity of the mission.
These types of ambivalences and uncertainties can amplify the moral injury suffered by combatants.
Other examples include healthcare professionals who have to make life and death treatment decisions based on administrative or financially oriented criteria rather than based on best practices.
This double bind can lead to severe burnout, and helps explain the recent high rates of resignation and even suicide in the healthcare and helping professions, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is viewed by many as largely preventable in hindsight.
This particular book is almost entirely focused on combat veteran’s of the protracted conflict in Afghanistan.
The text is littered with the utterly tragic experiences of people who were put into dangerous situations, and had to make extremely difficult and complex moral and ethical decisions in life or death situations.
Many of these individuals were teenagers or in their early 20s, and who were as such, developmentally or otherwise unprepared for these types of responsibilities and experiences.
This book is a tragic and powerful eye-opening introduction to this important and timely issue.
5/5
December 17, 2016
David Wood presents an excellent introduction to Moral Injury and its effect on the participants of today's armed conflicts. Spoiler alert - there is no silver bullet. Wood presents some excellent examples to illustrate how armed conflict affects the people who live through it and the challenges they face when they return home to a society that is largely indifferent to their experiences. It is a well-researched and thought-provoking read that challenges some widely-held assumptions. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is involved in casualty management. It is recommended reading for anyone who is interested in understanding the challenges that soldiers and their families face when they return from war. If nothing else, it will teach you how to listen to our stories.
December 8, 2016
An eye-opening account telling what happens to those who serve and come home. What we know as the Rules of Engagement does not apply in other cultures. While we are raised with the belief that to kill, for any reason, is wrong, we train soldiers to do just that in "defense of God and country." Islamic extremists are raised from childhood to "kill all non-believers." Our troops fight for perceived freedom, while extremists are "cleansing the earth" of perceived infidels. The concept of human rights is not part of their belief system, so using civilians, particularly women and children as weapons of war is considered good strategy. They know how American soldiers will hesitate to hurt a child, even one with a machine gun. However, a soldier is forced to kill that child to save himself and fellow soldiers. This creates a moral injury on that soldier. I highly recommend this for VA caregivers, physicians, staff, and families of veterans from Vietnam and all wars after.
July 12, 2025
Wood's exploration--most of it testimonial and anecdotal--concerns not PTSD, which he considers to be neurological/physiological, but the ethical and moral, the injuries to Christian value systems with which soldiers were raised. These are injuries that he believes are more widespread than PTSD (or even physical wounding) and more difficult to identify and treat. How do we help soldiers heal these unseen wounds to their moral values and wellbeing? In the end he describes treatment strategies and makes the basic point that since the nation asks its soldiers to serve and suffer, the nation must help these soldiers heal. There is no agency or pill singularly effective. Yes, the VA must be involved, but soldiers serve us and, therefore, their healing is our responsibility.
The writing is beautiful, but repetitive in spots, attacking the same ground, so to speak. The point is really intuitive and simple and did not require this long a book.
The writing is beautiful, but repetitive in spots, attacking the same ground, so to speak. The point is really intuitive and simple and did not require this long a book.
March 6, 2017
A tough read in that the topics covered were emotionally draining. While I've not been a war monger, this book and my own service experience have shifted my views. I now want our politicians to have an exit plan and a care plan, one that addresses all wounded warriors. Our costs are not only dead, physically wounded, money and the like, but as well decades of care for our Soldiers and the predictable effects on those we attack and kill. We need our leaders to ask the questions, Why do they hate us and How will this course of action change their perceptions?
September 17, 2018
Send your kids to war and they come home talking dirty and you'd better damn well take fucking care of them. Sickening and vital read.
May 10, 2021
4.5 stars. The aim of this book is excellent, but Wood tries to cover so much while holding to an anecdotal structure that some of the most powerful sections fell flat. The book really shines when he describes the history of war and corresponding religious/philosophical justifications (or lack thereof), and his overview of the various post-killing cleansing rituals that evolved over thousands of years in many cultures—and the implicit question of why we no longer honor them was completely fascinating. Minus .5 because he tries to cover so many topics while also honoring the complex stories of his interviewees; I was hungry for more depth on the history, the role of religion or a higher values system, the development of treatment options, the need for democratic consensus around waging war. The most thought-provoking question for me: if the argument is that much moral injury stems from the soldier committing acts that are against societal values, how can civilian society + politicians be held more accountable for this trauma and establish widespread, values-based consensus over why the soldier must commit those acts? That’s definitely another book in itself! In sum, excellent food for thought all around...I’ll be chewing on this one for a good long while.
June 15, 2019
An eye-opening book with examples and glimpses of what war does to veterans. There is an undeniable harm done to so many men and women who are deployed for war and come back home to insufficient resources and training on how to heal what David Wood so frequently referred to as ‘moral injuries’. Soldiers come home and are told to be civilians again; allthewhile forever carrying the emotions and stories they endured as soldiers where they were trained to put their individual moralities on hold in exchange for military indoctrinations. In addressing the failures of the VA, the military, the politicians and society as a whole, David Wood exposes what goes wrong for so many people coming back from the realities of war. Part of his conclusion “..I want us to be more skeptical of lofty claims of what military force can achieve and more mindful of the costs that will be borne by the people we send to fight.” perfectly encapsulates and reinforces my own sentiments about our country’s appetite for perpetual war.
December 4, 2020
Listen to soldiers, not just a few, but every branch and MOS you can. The broader your perspective, the more likely you will hear of the incredible suffering they have endured in body, mind, and soul. Don't judge, but offer the grace you would want to receive from God. Respect them, love them. Tell their stories to others, so that their agony is not in vain, but inspires everyone to do everything possible in life and death to make peace. Every life saved from the horrors of war is valuable.
I really appreciated Wood's perspective that deeper than PTSD is the moral injury of war, one that is not as easily healed. He helps define it, demonstrate how prevalent it is, and presents some of the ways people have addressed it, such as chaplains and counselors. A book worth reading in my opinion.
I really appreciated Wood's perspective that deeper than PTSD is the moral injury of war, one that is not as easily healed. He helps define it, demonstrate how prevalent it is, and presents some of the ways people have addressed it, such as chaplains and counselors. A book worth reading in my opinion.
January 6, 2018
To say I really liked it (4-star) or was amazing (5 star) does not give justice or solutions to the dilemma. I have treated it as an awareness book. Read it or read about the results of war and listen.
Leaving it unrated is not good either. The solutions to the problem?
The author says that there are many nongovernmental projects underway for civilians to get together with veterans.
Stacy, a combat camera, who has worked two tours in Afghanistan says society dances around the cancer.
David Wood defines moral injury as a trauma as real as a flesh wound; a jagged disconnect in our understanding of who we are and of what we and others ought to do and ought not to do.
- inflicting purposeful violence.
- witnessing
- suffering of civilians the sudden violent maiming of a loved buddy
War makes us killers. We must confront this horror directly if we’re to be honest about the true cost of war...I’m no longer the “good” person I once thought I was. Timothy Kudo, U.S. Marine Corps, served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It makes one wonder if the world is a good place.
And in a broader sense there is: loss of trust, loss of faith, loss of innocence. These can all have enduring, psychological, spiritual, social, and behavioural impact.
He adds that each of us might have experienced a twinge of moral regret and sometimes deeper and lasting moral injury.
Moral injury does not imply that atrocities in war have occurred or war crimes have been committed --- It means that an individual's ethos has been violated.
He gives an example of Lance Corporal, Nik Rudolph who in his mind replays the action of kill or do not kill-- the act of killing is not healed. it does not gradually fade away. "it will all be there."
Nik's memory of the boy he killed does not fade.
PTSD is a psychological wound of something done to you.
"I did a bad thing."
"I am a bad person."
"I failed."
Moral Injury is a learned behaviour; learning to accept the things you know are wrong- as in the example he gives of Stephen Canty.
Canty was twenty when he killed an Afghan
Once a marine--- if you can stomach it, watch this doc.
He says when you have to kill someone never look them in the eye because it stays with you forever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HJDu...
Once a marine- LIFE AFTER WAR documentary made in 2014---
What are the answers:
At the outset, stop defining veterans in terms of PTSD and 22 suicides a day. Recognize that it is all of us suffer moral injuries, not just those who served in the wars. Healing does not begin with pity.
This book is well researched, well documented with chapter notes at the end.
Leaving it unrated is not good either. The solutions to the problem?
The author says that there are many nongovernmental projects underway for civilians to get together with veterans.
Stacy, a combat camera, who has worked two tours in Afghanistan says society dances around the cancer.
David Wood defines moral injury as a trauma as real as a flesh wound; a jagged disconnect in our understanding of who we are and of what we and others ought to do and ought not to do.
- inflicting purposeful violence.
- witnessing
- suffering of civilians the sudden violent maiming of a loved buddy
War makes us killers. We must confront this horror directly if we’re to be honest about the true cost of war...I’m no longer the “good” person I once thought I was. Timothy Kudo, U.S. Marine Corps, served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It makes one wonder if the world is a good place.
And in a broader sense there is: loss of trust, loss of faith, loss of innocence. These can all have enduring, psychological, spiritual, social, and behavioural impact.
He adds that each of us might have experienced a twinge of moral regret and sometimes deeper and lasting moral injury.
Moral injury does not imply that atrocities in war have occurred or war crimes have been committed --- It means that an individual's ethos has been violated.
He gives an example of Lance Corporal, Nik Rudolph who in his mind replays the action of kill or do not kill-- the act of killing is not healed. it does not gradually fade away. "it will all be there."
Nik's memory of the boy he killed does not fade.
PTSD is a psychological wound of something done to you.
"I did a bad thing."
"I am a bad person."
"I failed."
Moral Injury is a learned behaviour; learning to accept the things you know are wrong- as in the example he gives of Stephen Canty.
Canty was twenty when he killed an Afghan
Once a marine--- if you can stomach it, watch this doc.
He says when you have to kill someone never look them in the eye because it stays with you forever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HJDu...
Once a marine- LIFE AFTER WAR documentary made in 2014---
What are the answers:
At the outset, stop defining veterans in terms of PTSD and 22 suicides a day. Recognize that it is all of us suffer moral injuries, not just those who served in the wars. Healing does not begin with pity.
This book is well researched, well documented with chapter notes at the end.
December 22, 2017
Excellent introduction to the reality of moral injury in simple straightforward language.
David Wood provides a valuable resource to introduce the subject of moral injury. Every American would benefit greatly in knowing how to effectively respond to our combat veterans by reading this book. This book should sound a clear call to action for our faith communities to intentionally engage the work of spiritual healing for our combat veterans. Excellent introduction and treatment of a potentially debilitating condition which has been with humanity since Cain killed Abel.
David Wood provides a valuable resource to introduce the subject of moral injury. Every American would benefit greatly in knowing how to effectively respond to our combat veterans by reading this book. This book should sound a clear call to action for our faith communities to intentionally engage the work of spiritual healing for our combat veterans. Excellent introduction and treatment of a potentially debilitating condition which has been with humanity since Cain killed Abel.
February 7, 2018
This is an important book for all those who love a veteran, attempt to understand a veteran, or counsel a veteran. The term PTSD has been overused and misused in the treatment of those veterans who are actually suffering from moral injury. Treatments are being developed to help with moral injury, but they are slow to be embraced by the military. I find it hopeful that progress is being made in this respect. But when will we learn that sending our sons and daughters to war is sin? We are all so complicit in this crime.
June 5, 2018
Riveting, powerful, and horrific. The book's main takeaway is that moral healing can only come from a civilian-military discourse. But the painful reality is that the Iraq War has faded from memory and the sacrifices made are past public concern. We will never have a public catharsis, or if so, decades down the road when our millennial veterans, the ones who live long enough, will be old men. We will have speeches one day and wax and wane about how we were wrong. But we know *now* that we can help and we have the truth.
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