UNIVERSITY PARK — A former Navy SEAL spoke about resilience and helping people — specifically veterans — find their purpose while discussing his new book Tuesday night at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Eric Greitens’ book, “Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life,” has become a New York Times best seller since its March release. It details Greitens correspondence with a friend of his, a fellow Navy SEAL, who had reached out to Greitens after falling on hard times while transitioning home.
“He called me after he had been arrested,” Greitens said. “So my buddy — who was once a Navy SEAL, war hero, entrepreneur, good father — was now an unemployed alcoholic on disability who was looking at the prospect of having his kids come to visit him in jail.”
He said after his friend’s arrest, he began writing him letters about “resilience — about how you deal with pain and build wisdom.”
The book aims to help people move past hardships and grow from it, he said.
He said after his friend’s arrest, he began writing him letters about “resilience — about how you deal with pain and build wisdom.”
The book aims to help people move past hardships and grow from it, he said.
Tuesday’s event was part of the Bush Center’s Engage public speaking series, which is “a series of public conversations about leadership and current events with notable authors, thought leaders, and newsmakers,” according to the Bush Center’s website.
The event was moderated by Bill McKenzie, a former editorial columnist for The Dallas Morning News and editorial director for the George W. Bush Institute.
Lt. Col. Matt Amidon, who introduced Greitens and McKenzie, spoke about the Bush Institute’s focus on service members transition back into civilian life. Amidon serves as the program manager of the Institute’s Military Service Initiative
Former President George W. Bush has made veterans’ well-being and their re-entry into society one of the institute’s priorities.
“This is a debt we owe … in support of the 2.8 million who have already left service, the 1 million who will leave in the next five years and, of course, their over 6 million family members,” Amidon said. “Transition is an often profound change that a service member undergoes when they take off the uniform in search for what is next. Some transition smoothly, some have challenges and some truly suffer.”
After returning home from where Greitens served four deployments as a Navy SEAL, he founded The Mission Continues, a non-profit organization that “empowers veterans facing the challenge of adjusting to life at home to find new missions,” according to the organization’s website.
He said it is important for returning veterans to get engaged in the community in order to build their sense of purpose.
“Some people come back and they are on and it’s solid and they don’t skip a beat. And that’s rare, but it can happen,” Greitens said. “There are other people who struggle, really struggle, with this for years. So there is a whole bell curve.”
But, he added, “one of the things for everyone that helps them is finding a way to get engaged right away.”
Julie Fancher/ Dallas Morning News
