Soul Repair

October 8, 2012
In this appeal to Americans to take more seriously the psychic wounds of war and high suicide rate of veterans, Brock (Saving Paradise) and Lettini (Homosexuality) move beyond post-traumatic stress disorder to what they understand as a distinct category of injury: the moral toll of war. Ordinary people with everyday consciences often become deeply troubled when they have to kill, even for “good” reasons, and especially when the victims are women and children in ill-defined war zones. While PTSD can be cured or resolved through psychotherapy, moral wounds often become more acute as soldiers recover from traumatic stress. The authors question the efficacy of rationalizing away moral injury—should we not instead interrogate what it means for humans to violate their consciences? The book lets veterans tell their stories. Each veteran has a distinct social location—e.g., white, black, or Latino, Vietnam or Iraq war vet—but their sagas tend to melt together. The book’s strength lies, however, not in the narratives but in the authors’ eloquent and unflinching discourse on war’s problematic moral core.