Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body

A Marine's Unbecoming

De: Lyle Jeremy Rubin

Narrado por: Garrett Michael Brown, Lyle Jeremy Rubin

An honest reckoning with the war on terror, masculinity, and the violence of American hegemony abroad, at home, and on the psyche, from a veteran whose convictions came undone

When Lyle Jeremy Rubin first arrived at Marine Officer Candidates School, he was convinced that the “war on terror” was necessary to national security. He also subscribed to a strict code of manhood that military service conjured and perpetuated. Then he began to train and his worldview shattered. Honorably discharged five years later, Rubin returned to the United States with none of his beliefs, about himself or his country, intact.

In Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body, Rubin narrates his own undoing, the profound disillusionment that took hold of him on bases in the U.S. and Afghanistan. He both examines his own failings as a participant in a prescribed masculinity and the failings of American empire, examining the racialized and class hierarchies and culture of conquest that constitute the machinery of U.S. imperialism. The result is a searing analysis and the story of one man’s personal and political conversion, told in beautiful prose by an essayist, historian, and veteran transformed.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“This is not your ordinary military memoir. It is not often that one experiences a truly original mind, a way of thinking combined with literary skill and grounded in hard learned humility, but that is Lyle Jeremy Rubin on his path from acting as an instrument of empire to deconstructing it and understanding the true meaning of freedom, community, and ethics. Never has a takedown of militarism, capitalism, and empire been more powerful and persuasive.”—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

“An instant classic of antiwar literature, Rubin’s stunning coming-of-age story as a US Marine is an absorbing look at how imperial masculinity is made through personal experience and psychic transformation. But the book doubles as a political reflection on how to achieve a critical perspective on our times in a forgetful country. This is a must-read—especially for Americans who rely on the service of others without owning the damaging results.”—Samuel Moyn, author of Humane

“Few people have traced the connections between masculinity, American empire, and the ailments of our republic with as much unflinching grace as Rubin. Give this book to the angry young men in your life.”—Matthieu Aikins, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of The Naked Don’t Fear the Water

“Both a gut-wrenching portrait of the psychic, physical, sexual, and structural violence of American imperialism and a powerful conversion story of transformation from enthusiastic foot soldier to incisive internal critic of American empire. In a moment calling for reckoning with the ravages of America’s wars at home and abroad, this is a worthwhile read.”—Adom Getachew, author of Worldmaking after Empire

“This is no equivocal or evasive military memoir, content to agonize over war’s dehumanization but unwilling to name the exploitative, extractive, and racist forces that drive it. Rubin’s experiences compel him to see his enemy as the socioeconomic system that rots America out and drives it to dominate the world.”—Spencer Ackerman, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Reign of Terror

“What’s a nice neocon kid and AIPAC intern doing in a place like the US Marine Corps? Having his worldview shattered and coming to see American life in a new way, as it turns out. Rubin’s memoir is more about his changing perception than his combat experience. Original, thoughtful, sometimes raw, and often provocative.”—Stephen Kinzer, author of Poisoner in Chief

Honest, intelligent, and accurate

As a former Marine, I can say that Rubin nails it. He offers brilliant description of Marine Corps culture and the culture of masculinity that runs through it. Unlike so many other veteran memoirs, Rubin doesn't take any assumptions for granted. He guides us through a rigorous interrogation of the belief system that lead him to the Corps and to war. There are no tough-guy battle scenes, here. No self-congratulatory, triumphalist retelling of victories. It's just an honest interrogation of the beliefs that brought so many of us to war.

Good story!

Loved the details of Lyle’s evolution and his emergence from the brainwashing he grew up with.