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The River of Resilience: How Garth Brooks’ The River Reflects a Soldier’s Journey to Overcome
Explore resilience, PTSD, and the veteran experience through the lens of Garth Brooks’ iconic song.
By R. T. Garner
“You know a dream is like a river / Ever changing as it flows.”
Discover how Garth Brooks’ ‘The River’ reflects a veteran’s journey of resilience and overcoming challenges after service. For John, returning home from war wasn’t the end of his battles; it was the start of a new fight to rebuild his life while navigating PTSD and societal perceptions. His story mirrors the lyrics of ‘The River,’ reminding us that resilience is about choosing to keep sailing, no matter how rough the waters.
His service to his country was a source of pride for him, and it helped him develop into the kind of soldier he had always imagined himself to be. After returning to the civilian world, however, everything seemed strange. Friends and relatives viewed him differently, some with sympathy and others with an unwarranted desire to “fix” him… What they couldn’t see was that John didn’t need fixing; he required understanding.
John wasn’t broken. Yes, he struggled, but his struggles weren’t his identity. What defined him was his resilience, the same unwavering determination that carried him…
