Jack Ratliff is the author of the new memoir Riding the White Bull: The Making of a Navy Seal. He spent four years in the Navy, practiced law in El Paso for 20 years, and taught at the University of Texas Law School for 20 years. He lives in Santa Fe.
Q: Why did you decide to write this memoir?
A: I didn’t set out to write a “SEAL memoir.” What I wanted to explore was how a person is shaped long before he ever faces real tests of responsibility or danger. The events in this book - college, rodeo riding, firefighting, early naval service, UDT training, were all formative. They taught me how judgment is earned, how fear is managed, and how responsibility settles into a person over time.
I wrote the book because too many stories of service focus on the end result and skip the making. This is a book about becoming, about the mistakes, the risks, and the moments that quietly shape who you are long before anyone is watching.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The title comes from a literal experience - riding a white Brahma bull in a rodeo, but it also became a metaphor I couldn’t shake. When you climb onto something powerful, unpredictable, and dangerous, you’re forced to commit fully. You can’t hedge. You can’t fake it. You either stay present or you pay the price.
For me, “riding the white bull” came to represent moments in life when you choose to face risk head-on rather than step away. Those moments aren’t always dramatic, but they define your character. The title captures that idea better than anything else I could think of.
Q: Did you rely mostly on your own memories to write the book, or did you need to do any additional research?
A: The book is rooted primarily in my own memory. The events stayed vivid because many of them involved real risk, real fear, and real consequence, those experiences tend to imprint themselves.
That said, I did verify timelines, locations, and details where needed, especially around naval service. But this is not a reconstructed history; it’s a personal account. I wanted to preserve how things felt at the time, not reinterpret them through hindsight or modern assumptions.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: Writing the book forced me to slow down and look honestly at choices I made decades ago - some good, some reckless, some simply human. It reminded me how thin the line often is between confidence and foolishness, courage and stubbornness.
What I hope readers take away is an appreciation for how character is formed over time, often quietly and imperfectly. You don’t become steady by avoiding risk; you become steady by meeting it, learning from it, and carrying those lessons forward.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: At this stage of my life, I’m less interested in producing another book and more interested in conversation talking with readers, veterans, students, and anyone curious about how experience shapes judgment.
If I write again, it will likely continue exploring responsibility, leadership, and decision-making, but always through lived experience rather than abstraction.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: This book isn’t about heroics, and it isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about accountability to yourself and to others. The men I admired most in my life weren’t flawless or loud; they were steady, thoughtful, and willing to carry responsibility when it mattered.
If Riding the White Bull resonates, I think it’s because many people recognize those moments in their own lives the ones where you either step forward or step aside. This book is about choosing to step forward, even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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