Houston Congressman's new book tackles mental resilience

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston Congressman Dan Crenshaw said his new book is not an autobiography.

"It really is a deeper discussion on mental toughness and mental resilience derived from my experiences in the SEAL teams, combat, research in psychology and philosophy, US history and a lot of pop culture too," he told ABC13. "So, it's a really multi-disciplinary book. It's a fun read. It's a deeper discussion than you might have expected from a SEAL or a politician."

The former Navy SEAL, who won the election to Texas' second congressional district in 2018, said the book came about after he was the topic of a joke on Saturday Night Live during his run for congress.

He said people expected him to join the online outrage, but he didn't. Instead, he rose above the insult, accepted an apology and made light of it.

While the book entitled, Fortitude: American Resilience In The Era of Outrage, isn't about that episode, it is about the idea of personal responsibility and moving past petty, unimportant disagreements.

"The book was written to find solutions to the petty outrage culture, offended culture and cancel culture that we all really see in our daily lives," he said.

The book launched on April 7, and the hardcover edition sold out on Amazon. Crenshaw said despite the early success, he's not planning on authoring any more books.

"It's this mix of a self-help book and a philosophy book. Throughout the course of the book, you'll learn more about me," he said. "You'll learn about some politics, even though it's light on the politics."

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