Odysseus in America

Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming

By: Jonathan Shay M.D. M.D., John McCain - introduction, Senator Max Cleland - introduction

Narrated by: David Strathairn, Senator Max Cleland

In this ambitious follow-up to Achilles in Vietnam, Dr. Jonathan Shay uses the Odyssey, the story of a soldier's homecoming, to illuminate the pitfalls that trap many veterans on the road back to civilian life.

Seamlessly combining important psychological work and brilliant literary interpretation with an impassioned plea to renovate American military institutions, Shay deepens our understanding of both the combat veteran's experience and one of the world's greatest classics.

In Achilles in Vietnam, Dr. Jonathan Shay used the story of the Iliad as a prism through which to examine how ancient and modern wars have battered the psychology of the men who fight. Now he turns his attention to the Odyssey, the story of a soldier's homecoming, to illuminate the real problems faced by combat veterans reentering civilian society.

The Odyssey, Shay argues, offers explicit portrayals of behavior common among returning soldiers in our own culture: danger-seeking, womanizing, explosive violence, drug abuse, visitation by the dead, obsession, vagrancy and homelessness. Supporting his reading with examples from his fifteen-year practice treating Vietnam veterans, Shay shows how Odysseus's mistrustfulness, his lies, and his constant need to conceal his thoughts and emotions foreshadow the experiences of many of today's veterans. He also explains how veterans recover and advocates changes to American military practice that will protect future servicemen and servicewomen while increasing their fighting power. Throughout, Homer strengthens our understanding of what a combat veteran must overcome to return to and flourish in civilian life, just as the heartbreaking stories of the veterans Shay treats give us a new understanding of one of the world's greatest classics.

Should be required reading

Anyone who has any interaction with military service members, and those in some of the similar professions (police, firefighting, etc) should be required to read Dr. Shay's Odysseus in America, and Achilles in Vietnam. It is my opinion that moral/spiritual injury is the most under-identified serious trauma facing our service members today. Dr. Shay does an excellent job of taking classical literature and showing us how these issues are as old as humanity itself. He also helps pain a picture for us of how we can support those suffering with these issues. This work is a masterpiece, and everyone should read it.

Excellent, excellent work

I read this title after a recommendation from my daughter. She had encountered the work during a politics course in college, and upon learning of a friend of mine suffering from PTSD, suggested I read it. As I listened, Odysseus in America helped me to put some of my friend’s behaviors and impulses into a language I could understand. Dr, Shay’s studies explain some of the manifestations of the injuries suffered and how to walk along with someone going through PTSD, even if that only means a silent awareness on my part. I highly recommend the work.

must read!

my only negative comment is that now I have to listen to it multiple times because of how much information is in this book.

amazing analysis of the past, present, and future.

simply brilliant. ive listened to both of his books and they are amazing. listen to lt now.

One of the most important books about combat trauma

This book and his other work should be read by anyone who wishes to learn about combat trauma and how war has not changed all that much