My River Home: A Journey from the Gulf War to the Gulf of Mexico

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, veteran Marcus Eriksen set off on a journey down the entire length of the great Mississippi River on a homemade raft kept afloat by 232 empty soda bottles, recycled junk, and a dose of ingenuity. Though he had never made such a trip before—2,000 miles from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, past his childhood home near New Orleans, to the Gulf of Mexico—he had dreamed of doing it over a decade earlier, while serving amid sandstorms and oil fires in Kuwait as a marine in the Gulf War.

While struggling against a river with an unpredictable personality, Eriksen recounts a personal shift from proud soldier to self-destructive veteran to engaged activist protesting the injustices of the Iraq War. Startlingly honest and warm with affection for the people he meets, in My River Home Eriksen explains, through his own story, the allure of the military, the tragedy of modern war, and the courage it takes to fulfill a dream.

“A beautiful story of healing, hope, faith, and renewal. 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

“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

“My River Home is 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 born to be a Marine who learns the dangerous truth that 'sometimes patriotism requires that one be willing to protect one’s nation from its own government.' Through vivid stories, Eriksen exposes the tragic personal consequences of corporatocracy policies—wars that enrich a few and ruin the lives of millions.” —John Perkins, author of the NY Times bestseller 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

“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)