William McRaven, a former head of U.S. Special Operations Command, in a new book describes the “most gut-wrenching tragedy” he faced during his military career and the important lesson he learned from it.
“The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived,” from Grand Central Publishing, goes on sale Tuesday. McRaven’s last book, “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life … And Maybe the World,” spent 37 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list in 2017.
In “The Hero Code,” McRaven recounts his experience with inspirational figures to illustrate a number of heroic virtues. In one of these examples,
he describes the virtue of forgiveness after a tragic special operations mission in 2010.
Forgiveness “is never easy” but is particularly important in society today, McRaven said during a phone interview Monday with Stars and Stripes. Anger and the immediate desire to retaliate against an aggressor are undue burdens, he said.
