“Failure isn’t final. It’s necessary. It’s the fuel that allows you to advance. To succeed.”
– Tim Kennedy (Scars and Stripes: An Unapologetically American Story of Fighting the Taliban, UFC Warriors, and Myself)
You are not misreading that. The title for today’s book is longer than the quote. That does not make the quote, or the book, any less important. Scars and Stripes is the personal account of a member of the special forces community who has been on the journey of a lifetime. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but he is still engaging in the good fight.
Scars and Stripes isn’t just a book about war. Yes, Tim Kennedy was a member of the famous Green Berets, but that was not the only thing he did with his life that defined him. He was also a successful UFC fighter and a semi-famous TV personality. He also volunteered for rescue missions that he willingly went on, not mandatory and unpaid.
The only issue with this book was the narration. Scars and Stripes was narrated by the author. He has had a lot of success in various aspects of his life, but narrating is not one of them. At least, not yet. He has a very odd tempo and a lot of pausing takes place that makes it almost sound like he is talking to you like you are an idiot. Besides that, this book was another fantastic experience of a truly gifted individual.
As a veteran, Scars and Stripes resonated with me on a personal level. I did not see or do anything near the level of intensity or danger that Tim Kennedy engaged in, but I empathize with a lot of the situations, feelings, emotions, and hardships that he talks about when it comes to service and perception. It is a difficult lifestyle and it is not meant for everyone.
Service is something you are either meant for, or you are not. There is no middle ground. And once you have successfully served, you feel like you are forever and always on a different level. It is also harder to understand those who haven’t. It is not a matter of feeling superior or better than others. There are just things in civilian life that no longer make sense to us, no matter how hard we try.
Journeyman's Legacy 