ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Magers is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Missouri who served in the US Army as a combat medic and “IED (Improvised Explosive Device) Hunter” in Baghdad during the Iraq War. He served with the 1138th Sapper Company and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Valor for heroism during the Battle of Sadr City. He is also a graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he received a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis in Depth Psychology, Professional Clinical Counseling, and Marriage and Family Therapy. Since 2014, he has worked with hundreds of veterans in a variety of capacities. Today he serves as the Clinical Manager at The Battle Within, a non-profit that provides quality therapeutic programs to veterans and first responders; in addition to serving clients at his private practice.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Odysseus & the Oar was written for military members, veterans, their loved ones, and those who counsel and serve them. Using Homer’s Odyssey and the experiences of today’s veterans, Iraq War veteran and psychotherapist Adam Magers explores the processes of homecoming, healing, and transformation. This book explores the archetype of the warrior’s return, a phrase coined by Magers that corresponds with the archetypal patterns seen in warrior myths worldwide, as well as the dreams of modern veterans. Honoring these timeless patterns, Magers argues, is essential for veterans to heal and recover the meaning, vitality, and purpose of their lives.
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Odysseus & the Oar’s novel interpretation of the Odyssey is possible because of the author’s experiences in combat, his conscious exploration of his post-war dreams through his own Jungian analysis, and because of his expertise in Jungian psychology and mythology. Commentaries on the Odyssey have been written in dozens of languages over hundreds of years, and yet this book goes into territory never before explored, illuminating Homer’s myth in new ways. Magers shares the storyline as an inner, archetypal reality. We learn that the archetypal imagery in the Odyssey and the dreams of modern combat veterans have an uncanny resemblance to one another because they depict psychological processes and content that is universal, and if we are to help veterans “come home” from war, they must be understood.
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At once entertaining and instructive. readers will find that they’ve taken a journey through ancient Greece, war, the painful process of homecoming, and even into new territory within their own souls. After Odysseus successfully navigates his immediate postwar trials, he is called “to carry an oar far beyond his home, to a land where people do not use salt with their food (whose lives lack flavor) and who do not even know the sea.” He has a mission to share the truth and tools of homecoming and healing that he himself has integrated.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Arnie Kotler has been a developmental editor for more than 30 years. He was founding publisher and editor-in-chief of both Parallax Press and Koa Books, where he worked closely with authors on memoirs and books on psychology, spirituality, social justice, the environment, war and peace, indigeneity, and a host of other topics.
Are you a veteran or first responder?
The Battle Within is a non-profit that provides therapeutic programs and services at no-cost to veterans and first responders.
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Their 5-day Revenant Journey program is an intensive form of group therapy that you can think of as a "jump start" to the healing and transformation process. Adam is the curriculum author of this program, and this program implements the same ideas and principles that Adam discusses in Odysseus & the Oar.
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The Battle Within also has a program called the Frontline Therapy Network. Through this program, veterans, first responders, and frontline medical professionals receive a clinical interview that helps determine the most appropriate course of treatment for the individual. Then, a referral is made to a qualified therapist who has the ability to provide an individualized treatment that meets the individual's needs. Each client receives up to 10 sessions free of charge, while those with insurance are referred to providers who can bill their insurance if desired.
