My River Home

A classic American story of a young man's return from war and his search for peace--while rafting the entire length of the Mississippi River
One August day, Marcus Eriksen, a veteran of the Gulf War, set off on a journey down the entire length of the great Mississippi River on a homemade raft. Along with vivid descriptions of his cathartic trip, Eriksen recounts his personal shift from proud Marine to self-destructive veteran to engaged activist protesting the injustices of the Iraq War.
My River Home is essential reading for anyone concerned about servicemen and -women, from new recruits to underserved veterans.
"A beautiful story of healing, hope, faith, and renewal. Like Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Marcus Eriksen takes us on an extraordinary journey; home from war, chaos, and sorrow, down the mighty Mississippi, he searches to find meaning in all that has been lost and all that has been wasted." --Ron Kovic, author of Born on the Fourth of July
"His is a complex, subtle portrait of what makes the warrior spirit--whether fighting for his country abroad or fighting for peace at home . . . Marcus Eriksen, a hero indeed, speaks for soldiers everywhere when he writes of the need for peace." --Susan Larson, New Orleans Times-Picayune
"A Homeric epic that starts at the top of the United States, plummets to the depths of the Gulf War, and probes the soul of a man." --John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
"Marcus Eriksen is a natural writer. In the best American tradition of Twain, Kerouac, and others, he uses the hard-fought journey as a means to cross not only physical space but psychic space as well. Eriksen's memoir cuts to the core of the great dilemma of what it means to be an American man. As his story of an epic journey down the Mississippi attests, he is immensely courageous, determined to overcome every obstacle in his path, and an ingenious problem-solver. But as the memories that won't leave him alone attest: he, like so many other Americans, both male and female, allowed himself to be trained and used as a professional killer. The beauty of this book is that Eriksen takes it one step further: he begins the forging of a badly-needed new archetype--an American man who is both participant and witness in the great struggle for forgiveness and a final end to all war." --Gerald Nicosia, author of Home to War
"All politicians considering war as a policy tool--especially those with no personal military experience--should read this book, and take special note of Marcus Eriksen's epiphany as he wandered with his brother amongst Iraqi corpses during the Gulf War. 'I'm glad it wasn't us, ' says his brother. Eriksen, with the added perspective of the current Iraq War, finds devastating precision for his response: 'But it was.' The futility and tragedy of war is made agonizingly clear by the inspirational journeys recounted with searing elegance in My River Home." --Peter Laufer, author of Mission Rejected: U. S. Soldiers Say No to Iraq
"Eriksen is honest and reflective about the way his character has been formed . . . a complex, subtle portrait of what makes the warrior spirit--whether fighting for his country abroad or fighting for peace at home. So when he talks about what we owe our servicemen--our time and attention, first of all--it has the ring of conviction and wisdom . . . Marcus Eriksen, a hero indeed, speaks for soldiers everywhere when he writes of the need for peace." --Times-Picayune (New Orleans)