Father David Peters illustrates that the problem of returning from war has been with mankind as long as wars have been fought. His book brings to light a current epidemic of moral injury but also connects todays warriors in search of healing to warriors from the past who have been through the same struggle in trying to fully reintegrate back into a peaceful society.

In experiencing the stories from backgrounds as diverse as Paul Tillich, St. Martin of Toures, King David, St. Ignatius to Florence Nightingale, Peters finds a connecting thread that addresses moral injury as something distinct from PTSD. As a moral injury its solution often resists the reach of another government program, or a pill, or a simple aphorism by a well-meaning civilian. And by connecting today’s issue to the problem faced by returning warriors centuries ago he provides insights that are not necessarily new but forgotten, such as the idea of ritual purification and pilgrimage.

The presence of answers that addressed the trauma of war in years past presents a truth that is both frustrating (in our tendency to throw off the past) and cause for hope. And Peters’ research also provides insight both for individuals, in letting go of our pre-traumatic image of god, and for churches who have a unique opportunity to fill a gap in the treatment of moral injury that other programs perhaps have not addressed.

The book is a powerful tool for individuals who’ve experience trauma but will also prove useful for family members and civilians whose only experience may come from the canned images that are pervasive in popular media. It’s structure in grounding this problem in both its historical and biblical foundations before proposing effective ritual and the importance of community shows that answers are not simple. And the philosophers and religious leaders referenced also show that this book is not the end of learning all there is to know about issues faced by our warriors, but a great starting point.
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