Sept. 9 – Men’s Book Group Discussion of “What Have We Done” by David Wood

Wednesday, Sept. 9  |  7:30 pm  |  Parish Hall/Zoom  -   

MEETING OPEN TO ALL

All are welcome to the next Men’s Book Club meeting, at which we will discuss What Have We Done: The Moral Injury Of Our Longest Wars, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and fellow St. John’s parishioner David Wood.

Wood  points out that almost two million men and women have returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom carry with them deep and abiding moral injuries. Moral injuries, he explains, are injuries that “bruise”  the soul. Unlike the better known (but equally damaging) PTSD, moral injury “is a jagged disconnect  from our understanding of who we are and what we and other ought to do and ought not to do.” They arise particularly in wars  where children fire automatic weapons and plant bombs, families are used as human shields and the enemy is dressed as civilians. Wood writes with compassion about the veterans who silently carry the consequences of their split second decisions on when to fire and at whom, highlights the inadequacy of the treatment they have received (or do not receive) when they return and describes the growing literature about this injury and its possible treatment.

Please join us to discuss the moral, spiritual and psychological consequences of what we have asked men and women to do in the name of democracy.

As with all our meetings, it is open to both men and women. If you wish to join by Zoom, use the form below to contact Earle O'Donnell and request the link.

- Earle O’Donnell