Common Book Author Eric Greitens speaks on his book “The Heart and the Fist”

Common Book Author Eric Greitens speaks on his book “The Heart and the Fist”

By: Anna Friesen

            Eric Greitens, the author of Virginia Tech’s Common Book, spoke on Nov. 5 in Burruss Hall at Virginia Tech about his book “The Heart and the Fist.”

“You have a responsibility to challenge yourself. You have a responsibility to push yourself,” said Eric Greitens as he talked about his experiences, his travels, and his time as a Navy SEAL during his speech on Thursday night.

Greitens drew many freshman students to Burruss Hall. Cadets from the Corps at Virginia Tech took up the majority of the crowd. Greitens’ service as a Navy SEAL and his humanitarian work drew most of the students in the audience.

Eric Greitens is a Rhodes scholar, Navy SEAL, humanitarian, and author. He worked with volunteer organizations helping refugees in Bosnia, Croatia, Rwanda, and Bolivia, while he led U.S. Marines hunting terrorists in Kenya, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

In 2007, his platoon was hit by a suicide bomber in Iraq. This put Greitens back in the U.S. and gave him a combat pay. He took this pay and founded The Mission Continues. This organization helps wounded veterans continue to live a life of service.

“The Heart and the Fist,” published in 2011, is about all of these events and what he learned from them. It is a New York Times best-seller and a critically acclaimed book.

In his book, Greitens was able to help readers attain a sense of respect for all the hard things happening overseas. It gives many perspectives and voices that help young people understand the world and events happening overseas.

His book and his experiences were the main subject of his presentation. He specifically talked about his time as a Navy SEAL, the training that went along with this position, his organization, what he learned, and how students can apply those lessons to their own lives.

“I thought it was really interesting how he said that the time when most people quit the SEAL training was when they weren’t doing anything physical,” said Aleena Gula, a Virginia Tech freshman.  “This shows that if you are mentally strong you can accomplish almost anything.”

Navy SEAL training is extremely physically and mentally challenging. Over the course of the 18-month training, over 80 percent of the class will drop out before the training has finished. Greitens talked a lot about the SEAL training he went through, what he saw during the training, and the challenges he had.

After a long review process, “The Heart and the Fist” was selected to be Virginia Tech’s Common Book for the 2015-2016 school year out of 163 recommendations for 120 books.

Book reviewers found that “The Heart and the Fist” touched upon all of Virginia Tech’s core values, including Ut Prosim, or That I May Serve, and the values of the Corps of Cadets. “The Heart and the Fist” is Virginia Tech’s ninth Common Book.

The Common Book Project was established at Virginia Tech in 1998 to better the freshman experience and create community. The goal is to spark discussion beyond the classroom, stimulate critical thinking, and connect students to Virginia Tech’s core values. The book is given to all freshmen students upon moving into their dorms and is integrated into some class curriculums.

Eric Greitens was able to keep the audience’s attention the entire time by never letting a moment be silent. At one point, the PowerPoint was having problems and instead of sitting in silence, he played it off with a few jokes even blaming al-Qaida for the technology issues. He was interactive and asked questions of audience members, such as how they’d do in Navy SEAL training.

Many students were able to take away important lessons from the presentation. “I learned that a life of service is a life that we were all truly made for,” said Justice Smith, a Virginia Tech freshman. “One where we find unmatched joy.”

The presentation was concluded with a 15-minute question and answer session that was open to anyone. After the presentation, there was a book signing where students were able to meet Greitens.

 

This was created for an event story assignment from my Media Writing course in Fall 2015.