Navy SEAL memoirs have reached every person on the planet. The trident-fueled evangelism that spared no corner of the globe in its pursuit of educating people on the wondrous existence of frogmen has, at long last, reached its end.
Films, documentaries, TV shows, memoirs, fiction novels, podcasts, and video games have gripped the public for decades, and yet, the fervent adult outreach of SEAL literature was destined to come to a halt eventually due to, if for no other reason, an unsustainable memoir-to-consumer ratio. And so, with the community unable to rely on Space Force to spread the good word to interstellar masses across the cosmos, writers must adapt.
Enter Skipper the seal, a hard-charging pinniped and the subject of retired Adm. William McRaven’s upcoming children’s book “Make Your Bed With Skipper the Seal,” an adaptation of the New York Times bestseller “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life ... And Maybe the World” — also penned by the former SEAL and special operations commander who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
“As Skipper the seal embarks on Navy SEAL training, he and his hardworking friends learn much more than how to pass a swimming test or how to dive off a ship,” the book’s synopsis reads.
“To be a great SEAL, you also have to take risks, deal with failure, and persevere through tough times — just as you do in life. (And always remember to make your bed!)”
Admittedly, it’s refreshing to see a SEAL applying personal experience, by way of the affable Skipper, to teach children indispensable life lessons. And at the very least, it signals a significant departure from the “every SEAL, a memoirist” approach of the previously silent service.
(Note: A quick Amazon search for “Green Beret book” produces 766 results, while “Navy SEAL book” yields over 8,000 hits, a number that includes “From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy SEAL Way,” a children’s book by former SEAL Jocko Willink.)
“When my three children were young, I always took time to read to them,” McRaven said in a release.
“I found that stories of adventure and overcoming challenges helped shape their character and inspired them to be their very best. I hope that ‘Make Your Bed with Skipper the Seal’ is just such a book!”
Raise a glass to McRaven for applying his own oftentimes unfathomable adventures to a worthwhile endeavor.
The book, published as part of Little, Brown, and Company’s Books for Young Readers, is slated for an Oct. 12 release.
J.D. Simkins is the executive editor of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
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