Copyright Benita Koeman 2008 - 2012
A Family's Guide to the Military for Dummies
Authors: Sheryl Garrett, Sue Hoppin, Copyright @ 2008
Learn to:
- Understand all aspects of military life
- Manage your family's finances
- Cope with deployment and relocation
- Take advantage of available benefits
A Family's Guide to the Military For Dummies is for the millions of military dependents, family members, and friends who are looking for straightforward guidance to take advantage of the benefits and overcome the challenges unique to life in the military. This comprehensive guide covers such key topics as introducing military life to readers new to the armed forces, financial planning, relocation, deployment, raising kids alone while a partner is away, and taking advantage of the available benefits. It offers tips and advice for dealing with emotions that surround events like deployments, deciphering the acronyms used in daily military life, forming support groups, keeping track of a loved one's whereabouts, and surviving on a military base in a foreign country.
A Handbook for Family & Friends of Service Members
Before, During and After DeploymentCopyright 2010
The team behind the award-winning PBS series, This Emotional Life, in partnership with the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) developed this FREE handbook to help you – the family friends and support network of our country's service members – understand what to expect from deployment, build the skills to strengthen or repair your relationships, and gain the tools to keep your family and personal community strong throughout the duration of your separation.
The handbook & accompanying film will help you:
- Be aware of the stressors and feelings you may encounter throughout deployment
- Develop skills to become more resilient despite these stressors and feelings
- Identify outside resources that may be useful to you, your family, and your friends throughout deployment
Basics from the Barracks: Military Etiquette and Protocol
A spouse's quick reference to its unique customs, courtesies, andtraditionsBasics from the Barracks - Military Etiquette and Protocol, a comprehensive resource to assist fellow military families with information relating to our military, national, and international etiquette and protocol.
Deployed Fathers and Families Guide:
Deployment guide for military personnelPublished by the National Father Initiative
Used by all branches of the armed forces, this practical guide is filled with helpful tips, exercises, and strategies to help military fathers and their families prepare for and successfully navigate deployment challenges.
The Deployed Fathers and Families™ Guide addresses several important topics, including money matters, legal issues, medical concerns, and staying connected during deployment. Increase military family readiness with this essential guide.
Encouragement for America's Hidden Heroes:
Survival tactics for the families of our military forcesAuthor: Amy Stevens, Copyright @ 2004
The survival guide was written to honor, guide, and connect with military families who are currently serving their country; by supporting their servicemember. There are many books on how to navigate the military bases, proper etiquette, rank issues, and how to move your family every few years, but very few with practical advice for a combat deployment separation.
Amy Stevens shares her experiences while creating a great sense of pride in the military family. With a firm belief that she is serving her country as a military wife. Amy Stevens shares methods for improving relationships and dealing with the emotions that surround a deployment.
Everything About ME (Military Personnel and Families Edition):
A Guide for My Future Caregivers Author: Dee Marrella, Copyright @ 2011With the huge numbers of American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries requiring long-term care -- possibly life-long care, this book (print and electronic versions) provides individuals and their families with a way to create a true tool that can be used by any caregiver who ever works with this person. Since family members might not always be available to be the caregiver in a veterans life, this guide will provide even a total caring stranger with a lifetime of knowledge, information and guidance on what the individual desires in the way of caregiving. This book, when completed, will tell all who use it every important fact about them: how "I" feel about life support, my favorite foods, the TV programs I dislike, how I'd like to have my obituary read, and my funeral conducted. When the time comes that a once vibrant individual required round-the-clock caregiving, and may not have a "voice" left o speak with -- this book can be that "voice" tell all who use it everything you want known.
God + Military Spouse:
United our families will standAuthor: Kathleen Cline, Copyright @ 2008
When the Iraq war first broke out there was ramped support for the military but as time went on personal support dwindled. Yet given the extended tour of duty, support became increasingly necessary to help women and their children get through long deployments and absences of husbands and fathers. As the wife of a Navy man, Kathleen Cline discovered that while there are many helpful books for women, there were none specifically for military wives and the particular challenges they face. During her overseas tour she also learned the importance of the Naval Chapel and the support it gives to military families. At the last three duty stations she volunteered at the Naval Chapel, teaching children church, leading womans Bible study and helping to organize VBS. Now, due to the war, the Naval Chapels focus must be on the active duty member which has left a gap of Biblical education for the family members. God + Military Spouse is the result of this need, and Kathleen Cline is qualified to offer it. From predeployment anxiety, to loneliness, depression and even temptation, God + Military Spouse is the support group manual for military wives and study groups who are serious about preserving the treasure of marriage and family.
Help! I'm a Military Spouse - I Get a Life Too! (2nd Edition):
How to craft a life for you as you move with the military Authors: Kathie Hightower & Holly Scherer, Copyright @ 2007Make the most of this challenging but extremely rewarding life. Support your spouse and craft a life for you--based on who you are as an individual. You will learn:
- 5 keys to happiness for your life with the military
- How to strengthen your relationship with your spouse
- Ways to make and maintain friends as you move
- How to tap into the richness and possibilities of this lifestyle
- 70 creative and practical ways to follow your own dreams while you follow the military
This book is for you if you are:
- Engaged to someone in the military
- A new military spouse
- A longer-term spouse looking for new tools and resources
Heroes at Home:
Help and hope for America's military families Author: Ellie Kay, Copyright @ 2002An essential guide to military families and those who want to support military families. This book offers practical help and encouragement for the spouses of active duty military personnel who are the heroes that keep the family and home together. Topics include managing holidays, moving, stress busting, volunteering, and living on a budget.
Hope for the Home Front:
Winning the emotional and spiritual battles of a military wife Author: Marshele Carter Waddell, Copyright @ 2003 Military wives are entrenched at home in the battle for their marriages, their children, their faith, and their sanity, which are all caught in the cross fire.
A seasoned military wife, Marshele Carter Waddell arms other military wives with God's promises of power and protection. In her warm and personable style, she recounts many of her own family stories: a call to duty interrupting a romantic dinner, watching her husband disappear into a submarine not to return home for months, and being far away from family during her father's illness and death.
For wives serving on the home front, burdens of fear, loneliness, anger, disappointment, temptation, single parenting, and separation from loved ones may easily rob them of the joy of following God's calling for their families. Hope for the Home Front provides Scriptural promises, tested advice, and compassionate support. "We have a firm anchor," Waddell reminds readers: "our faith in an unchanging God whose promises never fail."
(also available - a companion Bible Study)
I'm Already Home...Again:
Keeping your family close while on assignment or deploymentAuthor: Elaine Gray Dumler, Copyright @ 2006
Military families are especially vulnerable to tough separations. Now there's an easy-to-follow, practical guide to fun and inexpensive ways for keeping service men and women connected to their families while they're on assignment or deployment.
I'm Home Already...Again is an essential tool for military personnel preparing for active duty. The first edition of the work, I'm Already Home, is widely used by over 21,000 families. Now, expanded and updated, this second edition includes special features that make it even more useful and relevant to the unique demands of the military family. This valuable guide will help lessen the impact of being apart from those you love.
Intro to Army Life:
A Handbook for Spouses and Significant Others Entering the ArmyLifestyle Author: Allison Mewes, Copyright @ 2011Intro to Army Life: A Handbook for Spouses and Significant Others Entering the Army Lifestyle was created to encourage, educate and inspire those entering the army culture. It is an excellent resource for the individual reader or for companies promoting educational resources for the U.S. Army.
I Want You to Know Me:
Love, your American heroAuthor: Vickie L. Mullins, Copyright @ 2007
Are you messy or neat? Are you a deep sleeper or a light sleeper? Can you roll your Rs? Do you ask for directions?
While our country’s sons and daughters are away, they desperately need to know they are still connected back home. Through this book, I Want You to Know Me … Love, Your American Hero, every day mom and dad can see their hero’s hand-written words describing how he thinks, feels and looks. Yes, he has a cleft in his chin; it’s just like his grandfather’s. Mom and dad can touch their hero’s heart from a distance.
The serviceperson’s children can glance through this book every night before they go to bed, looking at the picture posted in the front and remembering when their mommy was here to read them stories … “And they lived happily ever after.” They connect across the miles.
The American hero’s husband or wife can hold the dog-eared copy of their spouse’s book and picture the answers without opening the cover. Yes, he did a flip off the diving board, and we spent the night in the hospital repairing the damage. Their relationship grows stronger.
We feel I Want You to Know Me … Love, Your American Hero, is our most important book so far, because, in times of uncertainty, it is so important to bring a sense of peace to everyone touched by the lives of our American heroes: mom and dads, grandparents, spouses, children.
*SPECIAL DISCOUNT* Bulk rate available to military organizations if ordered in cases of 20 by calling 1-480-941-8202. May even mix and match with other titles available such as I Want you to Know Me: Love Mom and Dad. Visit www.IWantYouToKnowMe.com for other titles.
Married to the Military:
A survival guide for military wives, girlfriends, and women in uniform Author: Meredith Leyva, Copyright @ 2003
Whether your dating, engaged or married to an active military servicemember or reservist--or you've just signed up yourself--you may feel as if you've somehow married the United States military! While there are plenty of orientation books for him, there are almost no handy, user-friendly resources for you. Meredith Leyva, a military wife and founder of cinchouse.com, the Internet's largest community for military wives, girlfriends, and women in uniform, details everything you need to know to manage day-to-day issues and get on with the adventure of military life. From relocation to deployment protocol to finances, and career to kids, Leyva offers time-tested advice about:
- keeping your love life together during deployments
- relocating yourself and your family around the world
- maintaining your own career when you're expected to move every three years
- understanding what pay and benefits you're entitled to--and how to maximize them
- translating those odd acroynyms and jargon
Written by a seasoned military wife, this smart and savvy guide will help you take control at every point of your servicemember's career--from filing marriage papers as newlyweds to choosing prenatal and child care when you start a family to figuring out his pension when he's ready to retire.
Medals Above My Heart:
The rewards of being a military wife Authors: Brenda Pace, Carol McGlothlin, Copyright @ 2004"But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned." Although their husbands wear their medals on their uniforms, the wives of servicemen have medals they wear over their hearts too.
Like the wives of great military leaders of the past, present-day military wives experience challenges that stretch their physical, emotional, and spiritual resources. While it is an honor to serve her soldier, airman, marine, or sailor as he defends the freedom of America, it is not without sacrifice. They receive no medals from their country but receive a reward greater than any medal. They reap the benefits of personal character and leadership development, adventure, relationships, and opportunities for service.
More Leisure than Money:
Tales of a Military Wife in Virginia Author: Ruth Pennington Paget , Copyright @ 2005More Leisure than Money: Tales of a Military Wife in Virginia shares secrets for creating roots wherever the global economy may take you at the same time that it evokes Virginia’s colonial and civil war history.
As a Navy wife, author Ruth Pennington Paget created roots for her family by keeping family journals, visiting museums and historic sites, and frequenting the library among other activities. Paget’s series of global era memoirs beginning with The Edible Tao enliven history and encourage readers to write their own life stories.
National Guard 101
A Handbook for SpousesAuthor: Mary Corbett, Copyright @ 2011
America's 365,000+ National Guardsmen and their family members live and work as civilians in nearly 3,000 communities across the United States and her territories, and fight abroad in the defense of our country. National Guard 101 is the only military lifestyle book written specifically for this unique audience.
Corbett's unique book covers a broad range of topics, from practical knowledge about the history of the National Guard and understanding rank to softer subjects like social life in the Guard and family programs. Corbett also details the benefits and assistance resources available to Guard families and guides readers through the process of setting up a Personal Assistance League (PAL) to provide support during deployment.
Acronym-free and written in a lively and informal style, National Guard 101: A Handbook for Spouses demystifies the Guard's unique hybrid civilian-military lifestyle. It is a must-read book for every National Guard family member.
Navy Spouses Guide
Author: Laura Hall Stavridis, Copyright @ 2002Naval officers and enlisted personnel undergo extensive training to cope with the special demands of their duties at sea and ashore, but what about their spouses and children? This practical, one-of-a-kind guide fills the gap by helping families navigate the unique challenges of Navy life. Personal, friendly, and easy to use, this updated edition of the original 1997 guide is based on interviews with Navy spouses and a lifetime of lessons learned by the author as a Navy junior and wife of a career naval officer. Using an array of hard-to-find diagrams, charts, facts, and figures from a wide variety of sources, Laura Stavridis explains every aspect of Navy life in a frank, open discussion.
The particulars of pay, living expenses, travel, children, emergencies, support groups, and social life, as well as medical, legal, and educational issues are described in an interesting, spouse-to-spouse format. Readers learn what to expect with regard to separation, homecomings, life overseas, shore duty, marital dynamics, and divorce. Also covered are such vital topics as military careers, spousal careers, reenlistment, retirement, and transition to civilian life. Useful phone numbers, checklists, glossary, and an up-to-date primer on the Navy's organization, ships and aircraft, and chain of command complete this unique reference. New to this second edition are discussions of e-mail communication, Internet resources, and spouse leadership roles within the Navy. For anyone starting out or contemplating life with a mate in the sea services this one-volume source of user-friendly information will prove invaluable.
Olive Drab Pom-Poms
Author: Kori Yates, Copyright @ 2011Military wives spend years, or even a lifetime, cheering for and supporting their man in uniform. It is a challenging and sometimes overwhelming task. At times, we get caught up in the day-to-day job of simple survival and forget that God has much more planned for us.
Author Kori Yates is one of those military wives. In Olive Drab Pom-Poms, she challenges women in her position to seek God's calling in their lives. She guides military wives-and military wives-to-be-in how to find their place in their husband's world. Readers will learn how to face challenges, their own and others', using God's help each step of the way. And there will be challenges; in a sometimes-uncertain world of the military, that is one definite fact.
Olive Drab Pom-Poms helps military wives stand in unquestionable support of the men they love, serving as cheerleaders, while recognizing that God intends more for them than standing on the sidelines of their husband's career. He has a plan for their lives, and Olive Drab Pom-Poms will help readers discover what He wants for you as you experience life as a real military wife.
101 Military Living Tips
Author: Beth Mahoney, Copyright @ 2008It's a fact! Military living is not an easy life. Military relocation issues such as enrolling the kids in new schools or finding a new place to live, can become burdensome and easily confusing. Deployments are frustrating and a growing cause of spousal mental health issues. Healthcare is ever changing for the veteran spouse and new spouses are rarely informed. Military housing is a common news feature these days with it's ghetto appearances and pest infestations. Military spouses undergo severe changes in jobs, employment, and parenthood that escalate stress and panic related disorders. But there is a way to cope, to make military life a little easier, in fact, there are 101 ways! 101 Military Living Tips provides quick and useful advice, resources, and important information at your fingertips made especially for military spouses by Beth Mahoney, a military brat turned wife and mother with over 30+ years of military life.
1001 Things to Love About Military Life
Authors: Tara Crooks, Starlett Henderson, Kathie Hightower, Holly Scherer, Copyright @ 2011
A first-of-its-kind celebration of military life, 1001 Things to Love About Military Life chronicles some obvious and not-so-obvious traditions, advantages and experiences military members, veterans and their families share.
Full of heart-warming vignettes, laugh-out-loud lists, stories and quotes from military members and family members, and photos that speak a thousand positive affirmations, this inspirational look at those who dedicate their lives to serving perfectly illustrates why it is a profession and lifestyle to love.
You'll find practical truths most service members wouldn't want to live without and learn the unique outlooks, services and advantages military life provides. Military or civilian, you'll experience the community and personal growth that the military offers.
Whether you have a friend or loved one in the military, you're a service member ready to head out on duty, a spouse gearing up to take charge of the household, a veteran in need of a few good laughs, or a new recruit looking for encouragement, this book provides inspiration and insight into the lives of today's dedicated and courageous military families.
On the Frontline:
A personal guidebook for the physical, emotional, and spiritualchallenges of military lifeAuthor: Tom Neven, Copyright @ 2006
The struggles and temptations our service men and women encounter are unique and beyond what civilians might ever face. Written from someone who's been there, this book addresses head-on the issues prevalent in military life: loneliness, fidelity, debt, fear and much more. It's a must-read handbook with uncompromising biblical guidance that will encourage and inspire both men and women in military service.
Operation Military Family
How to strengthen your military marriage and save your family Author: Michael J.R. Schindler, Copyright @ 2007Our children's well-being depends on it. Our military is fighting to preserve it. Our nation's strength is a result of it. What is it? A successful marriage.
Operation Military Family offers a unique look at how military couples strengthen their marriages despite the challenges brought on by unexpected or extended deployments. This book offers the "how-to's" on:
- Establishing a pre- and post-deployment plan
- Discovering the vision for your marriage
- Relating to your spouse in spite of circumstances
- Tapping powerful resources at little to no out-of-pocket cost
Now is the time to invest heavily in your greatest asset: your marriage.
Operation: Military Resources
Author: Kimberly Suchek, Copyright @ 2012Your all-in-one resource for military life! Are you looking for help for your military life? Maybe you need help solving emergency situations or finding educational assistance. This book will quickly become your go-to resource for everything that could happen in your military life!
OPERATION: Military Resources is full of thousands of up-to-date resources and organizations that were created with one specific goal in mind: To help military families! They will provide peace of mind and comfort to all military families--and let you know you are not alone. Over 275 pages full of resources for: *military service members *spouses *children *families *veterans *deployments *wounded warriors PLUS! *professional resources *educational resources *scholarships *discounts *travel resources *and more! Get your hands on this book: It's the last book you'll ever need to help you with your military life!
For your convenience this book is available in print, eBook and PDF versions.
Roses and Thorns:
A Handbook for Marine Corps Enlisted Wives Author: The Marine Corps, Copyright @ 1990A handbook for wives of Enlisted Marines.
64 Easy Answers About Etiquette for the Modern Military Spouse
Author: Marna Krajeski, Copyright @ 2012The trouble with most etiquette manuals is they’re too long. Now there’s a shortcut.
64 Easy Answers About Etiquette for the Modern Military Spouse was designed to provide a quick and convenient guide at your fingertips. The Frequently-Asked-Question format allows you to glance at the table of contents and consult the section you need, or read the book in one sitting if that’s your style.
"Easy Answers" covers social etiquette, as well as customs specific to military culture, such as what to do during reveille, retreat, and national anthems of foreign countries. This book will give you the confidence a military spouse needs for any situation.
Souls Under Seige:
The effects of multiple troop deployments-and how to weather thestorm Author: Bridgett C. Cantrell, Copyright @ 2009Besieged! Everyone is looking for a quick fix for the current war to win it, fight it, or end it! In the meantime, the resiliency of the dedicated men and women serving our country has been stretched thin by another concern the siege of their souls as they go through the revolving door of seemingly endless combat tours. The most voracious enemy for today s troops and their families is time, attrition, and unpreparedness. These elements continue to eat away at every level of their lives. It is all in the makeup of living under siege, and those under siege need to find ways to hold their ground as long as the war lasts. They need to prepare well in advance for the inevitability of multiple deployments.
It has been confirmed that warriors on their third and fourth tours of duty have much greater rates of mental health challenges than those on their first or second deployments. Time, and the wear and tear, has become a daunting enemy. For the families the weight of these deployments is magnified when they are ill-prepared for the tremendous emotional change and upheaval that may develop from these circumstances.
Dr. Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D. is the author of Down Range to Iraq and Back and Once a Warrior: Wired For Life and she now brings you Souls under Siege: The Effects of Multiple Troop Deployments and How to Weather the Storm. It is a book that will help us all find ways to support and tend to those living with the pressures of multiple deployments. Its thrust is to not only expand awareness of the issues involved, but to also outline sensible tools for finding relief in these trying times. Souls under Siege is not a book to sit idle on your shelf. It will become a useful guide to be used over and over again.
Surviving Deployment:
A guide for military families Author: Karen Pavlicin, Copyright @ 2003Surviving Deployment is your personal guide to turning an otherwise lonely and challenging situation into a positive experience.
Learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to personally grow as individuals and families. Your survival gear will range from a sturdy toilet plunger to the fine art of letter writing. You'll manage financial changes, help children express their feelings, and discover a renewed appreciation for everyday life. Solid information. Practical checklists. Personal stories from hundreds of families.
The Army Wife Handbook:
A complete social guide Author: Ann Crossley, Copyright @ 2007The Busy Book:
99 Ways to Stay Busy During Deployment (E-Book) Author: Sara Horn, Copyright @ 2009
Military spouses who are going through deployments sometimes struggle to find time for themselves. They’re busy, but they often feel like they’re spinning their wheels more than they are getting a whole lot done. When this happens, setting goals and planning one or two special projects can change a spouse’s perspective for the better.
The Busy Book offers 99 different ways a military spouse can stay busy during a deployment. Ideas are found in one of four areas: physical, mental, social and spiritual. A special feature includes the web links that come with many of the 99 ways, leading you to more information about a specific idea, and a checklist can be printed out for you to keep record of the different activities you've already tried.
The author, Sara Horn, a Navy reservist wife, has written extensively about the military and for the military family. She’s the founder of www.wivesoffaith.org, a faith-based military wives support organization she started when her own husband deployed.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Life as a Military Spouse
Survive-and-thrive tips for every military spouse Author: Lissa McGrath, Copyright @ 2008
Today's military has changed dramatically—and spouses need to be prepared. Approximately half of our 1.4 million fighting men and women are married. And for a military spouse, information and support are not easy to find. Included here is:
- How to enroll in the Child Development Homes program
- What to do before a permanent change of station (PCS)
- How to prepare for the deployment—and the return—of a spouse
- Easy ways to calculate benefits, allowances, and special pays
The Homefront Club:
The hardheaded woman's guide to raising a military family Author: Jacey Eckhart, Copyright @ 2005As anyone with a spouse in uniform knows, the military offers families neither geographical stability nor guarantees of life under one roof. Those conditions make it tough to keep a marriage together, raise good kids, and maintain some semblance of normalcy, but help is on the way. Jacey Eckhart’s new guide navigates readers through military life on the homefront. Aiming her advice at the wife—male spouses, she says, need their own book—she covers issues from the first day in the "fortress" to the last day the husband is piped ashore with humor and encouragement. An Air Force brat herself, Eckhart swore she would never enter the military, but married the first Navy man she dated and over the past seventeen years has raised three children, moved thirteen times, and tackled five deployments. She argues that being able to manage military life is not a secret some wives know and others don’t, but rather a set of skills to be acquired.
Eckhart presents the realities and then offers some solutions for the married-but-single parent, starting out on the bottom rung of the career ladder with each move, and worrying if military life is hurting the kids. She helps newlyweds and long-marrieds alike better understand the people who are drawn to military service and find ways to fit into the military community without losing a sense of self. Her guide offers helpful ideas about managing the demands of a teenager during a move, finding playmates for toddlers in new neighborhoods, and even telling mothers-in-law why they shouldn’t be at the homecoming. She also lists methods of finding full and part-time work. From pre-deployment work-ups through Christmas blues and post-deployment problems, Eckhart and her guide are at the homefront ready to help.
The Military Spouse:
Supporting and Caring for the Home Front Authors: Patricia Gerecht and CSM Mark Gerecht, Copyright @ 2009
The military lifestyle can be draining. With over two million men and women serving across our military services, many families know this all too well. In The Military Spouse, Patricia and CSM (Retired) Mark Gerecht share with you a number of resources that can be essential to running an effective and healthy military family. After all, the hardest job in the military is being a Military Spouse. "Every Military Spouse can learn something from this book, those new to the military way of life as well as the experienced spouse. After 32 years of being a military spouse, I was still taking notes as I read!"
The Mocha Manual to Military Life:
A Savvy Guide for Wives, Girlfriends, and Female Service Members Authors: Kimberly Seals-Allers withPamela M. McBride, Copyright @ 2009From Kimberly Seals-Allers, the creator of the Mocha Manual™ series, and coauthor Pamela McBride, a seasoned military wife, comes the ultimate guide to life, love, and logistics for military spouses, girlfriends, and female service members. Whether you're just beginning to date a military man and pondering the ins and outs of a long-distance relationship as he moves from base to base or you're a newly wed military wife, The Mocha Manual to Military Life has a host of tips for optimizing your romance. Beyond matters of the heart, the book also offers advice on everything from how to thrive during deployment to how to master military protocol to how to best build friendships among military wives. Accessible and witty, The Mocha Manual to Military Life is a fresh and timely must-read for all women—but particularly African American and Latina women—affected by military service. Written in the same informative tone as the other books in the Mocha Manual™ series, with sidebars and testimony from women who have experience navigating military life, this book is sure to be essential reading for all women engaged in some form or fashion with the military.
These Boots (CD, 60 minutes):
A spouse's guide to stepping up and standing tall during deployment Jacey EckhartWhen your spouse deploys, the challenges -- emotional and practical -- can seem overwhelming. On this recording, Jacey Eckhart, a military wife for 18 years and columnist for the Virginian-Pilot, offers suggestions and strategies to help you prepare for deployment, survive (and even thrive) while you're "married but single," and get ready for homecoming. You'll also learn ways to communicate with your spouse, help children cope, use resources, and build a community for support and encouragement.
Listen/download or receive an e-mail or printable version at www.militaryonesource.com
The Treasure of Staying Connected for Military Couples
Author: Janel Lange, Copyright @ 2004This book is a lifeline for couples stressed by military life, especially the lengthy separations. Short "real life" stories of couples growing through the tough times are expanded by comments from the author, a Navy wife of 25 years, who also has 25 years experience in presenting marriage enrichment programs.
The Ultimate Military Spouse Survival Guide - Navy Edition
Author: Chloe Adams, Copyright @ 2009The Ultimate Military Spouse Survival Guide - Navy Edition was made by Military Wives for Military Wives. This is the all-you-need-to-know guide to military life as a Navy Spouse.
Extensive details are given from military customs to mobile career options. Not a topic went uncovered as we sought to TRUELY represent 'Ultimate' when it comes to our 'Survival Guide'.
Pass Base Housing Inspections, get a breakdown on important documents and how to file them, what to do in emergencies and how to plan for deployments. We want to make military life a little easier. This is for the Silent Ranks, the Navy wives that just need a little help and guidance in tough times. We cover it all.
Thriving Not Just Surviving:
Deployment perspectives for today's military familiesOfficers' Christian Fellowship (OCF), www.ocfusa.org
Copyright @ 2008
This new book offers powerful insights to military families who are facing multiple deployments. Thriving Not Just Surviving is a collection of dozens of interviews and articles, many by wives of men who are currently deployed. They share their stories of God's care and provision with the hope that they will inspire others in similar situations. Additionally deployed men also speak out and share what they want their wives to know about deployment. The final chapter of the book is dedicated to reunion and reintegration.
To order copies, please contact Joyce Baerg at the OCF office in Englewood, Colorado, through e-mail (joyce.baerg@ocfusa.org) or phone (800-424-1984). We are offering Thriving Not Just Surviving for $10 each. For orders of ten or more copies, the price is discounted to $6 each. At this point, the book is only available through OCF.
Today's Military Wife - 6th Edition:
Meeting the challenges of service life Author: Lydia Sloan Cline, Copyright @ 2009Marrying a servicemember means more than marrying the man--it means marrying into the military family and its way of life. Today's Military Wife has been thoroughly revised to include up-to-date information essential for making the most of service life as the nation and the armed forces confront the new challnges facing America.
Spouses of active and reserve personnel will find information on:
- benefits of military service
- health and family services
- housing
- socials and protocol
- managing one's own career
- moving
- living overseas
- separations
- leaving the service
PLUS lists of Internet resources and a glossary of common military terms.
Now in its sixth edition, this book covers all the information a service wife needs to survive and prosper in a service environment, including a complete description of family-friendly programs, advice for coping with periodic separations, tips for managing a separate career, discussion of living overseas, information on raising a family, and details on being a full participant in the rich and rewarding social aspects of military life.
U.S. Army Deployment Cycle Readiness:
Soldier's and family member's handbookThe U.S. Army Deployment Cycle Readiness: Soldier's and Family Member's Handbook is designed to be used by Soldiers and Family Members in the Active, Guard, and Reserve Components. This handbook helps Families "gear up" for the various stages within the deployment cycle providing tips, ideas, and resources that can be used. Mission readiness requires Family preparedness. It can be very helpful to maintain a Family, Unit, and Resource Connection throughouth the various deployment stages.
Soldiers in this handbook refers to all Active Duty, Guard and Reserve members of the Army. "Families" refers to both immediate and extended Family members of Soldiers as well as other individuals identified by Soldiers.
When Duty Calls:
A handbook for families facing military separation Author: Carol Vandesteeg, Copyright @ 2005In this unique and wonderfully thorough handbook, a military wife and mom shares practical advice about preparing and dealing with deployment of a loved one. Carol Vandesteeg helps families learn what to expect as they prepare for deployment, how to communicate while separated, helping children through the separation, and reuniting at the end of the tour of duty. When Duty Calls also addresses the subject that's so painful to face: the possibility that the loved one may not return.
Wives of the Warriors:
Living confidently in Christ Author: Ronda Sturgill, Copyright @ 2003The wife of an active duty USAF Chaplain, Bible Study leader and Retreat/Seminar speaker, Ronda Sturgill has been a paraplegic as the result of a horseback riding accident in 1972. From a world class arch on the United States Wheelchair Athletic Team to a Christian communicator, Ronda ministers to both Military and Civilian audiences, motivating and encouraging them to apply Biblical principles to their lives.
"Wives of the Warriors, Living Confidently in Christ" is a ten-week Bible study that applies Biblical principles to the following circumstances:
- Moving frequently
- Deployments
- Single parenting, yet happily married
- Loneliness, anger, frustration
Participation in this study encourages interaction with Scripture for the purpose of changing attitudes and actions. Each week a new principle is presented which enables us to face each challenge with greater faith and confidence in God. Through in-depth study of His Word, we learn God's plans, purposes, and promises for our lives!
Write Out Loud!
Helping military spouses and children cope with lifeAuthor: Dr. Linda W. PetersonWrite Out Loud! is a curriculum guide for therapists, trainers, parents, and members of the military to help them cope with deployment, worry, stress, and possible loss. The hands-on activities and tools are excellent for probing understanding and developing insight as the non-deployed spouse and children.
Your Military Family Network:
Your connection to military friendly businesses, resources, benefits,Copyright @ 2008
Your Military Family Network is a friendly, complete, need-to-know overview to all the resources available to you and your family to be all you can be in your military and community life. This valuable insiders resource guide provides you with detailed information on how to manage life issues--from shopping the Exchange to handling deployment, from getting physically fit to getting financially fit, from finding schools to taking a family vacation, and much more. The book also includes a section providing handy worksheets to help you succeed and keep a record of your own vital statistics for handy reference. The guide will save you hours, days, and weeks of hunting down the facts on your own and provide you with timely information to help you make informed decisions when you need them most.
____________________________________________________________________
After the War Zone:
A practical guide for returning troops and their familiesAuthors: Matthew J. Friedman, Laurie B. Slone, Copyright @ 2008
- Coping with common reactions
- The aftereffects of "battle" mind
- PTSD - what it is and is not
- Home, work, and community concerns
A highly practical, user-friendly guide to homecoming--including common after-effects of war zone exposure and how to cope--for returning troops and their families.
Two experts from the VA National Center for PTSD provide an essential resource for service members, their spouses, families, and communities, sharing what troops really experience during deployment and back home. Pinpointing the most common after-effects of war and offering strategies for troop reintegration to daily life, Drs. Friedman and Slone cover the myths and realities of homecoming; reconnecting with spouse and family; anger and adrenaline; guilt and moral dilemmas; and PTSD and other mental-health concerns.
With a wealth of community and government resources, tips, and suggestions, After the War Zone is a practical guide to helping troops and their families prevent war zone stresses from having a lasting negative impact.
A Handbook for Family & Friends of Service Members
Before, During and After DeploymentCopyright 2010
The team behind the award-winning PBS series, This Emotional Life, in partnership with the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) developed this FREE handbook to help you – the family friends and support network of our country's service members – understand what to expect from deployment, build the skills to strengthen or repair your relationships, and gain the tools to keep your family and personal community strong throughout the duration of your separation.
The handbook & accompanying film will help you:
- Be aware of the stressors and feelings you may encounter throughout deployment
- Develop skills to become more resilient despite these stressors and feelings
- Identify outside resources that may be useful to you, your family, and your friends throughout deployment
Courage After Fire:
Coping strategies for Troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan andtheir familiesAuthors: Keith Armstrong, Dr. Suzanne Best, Dr. Paula Domenici, Copyright @ 2005
The bravery displayed by our soldiers at war is commonly recognized. However, often forgotten is the courage required by veterans when they return home and suddenly face reintegration into their families, workplaces, and communities. Authored by three mental health professionals with many years of experience counseling veterans, Courage After Fire provides strategies and techniques for this challenging journey home.
Courage After Fire offers soldiers and their families a comprehensive guide to dealing with the all-too-common repercussions of combat duty, including posttraumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. It details state-of-the-art treatments for these difficulties and outlines specific ways to improve couple and family relationships. Courage After Fire also offers tips on areas such as rejoining the workforce and reconnecting with children.
Includes:
- Reconnecting with loved ones
- Combating war reactions
- Returning to work and community
- Resources to help with readjustment
Down Range to Iraq and Back
Authors: Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D., Chuck Dean, Copyright @ 2005
There are some things people don’t get over easily — pain from the past is one of them. Trauma changes people: It changes values, priorities, worldviews, and most of all…it changes how we relate to others. Painful, life-threatening experiences take people beyond the normal day-to-day life, leaving them stuck behind defensive walls that keep them from re-entering the world they have always known as “home”. So how does it happen? How do we lose the loving closeness with those around us? And better yet, how do we re-gain what pain has robbed us of?
Down Range is not only a book explaining war trauma — it is required reading for anyone seriously interested about how to make healthy transitions from war to peace. Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D. and Vietnam veteran, Chuck Dean have joined forces to present this vital information and resource manual for both returning troops and their loved ones. Here you will find answers, explanations, and insights as to why so many combat veterans suffer from flashbacks, depression, fits of rage, nightmares, anxiety, emotional numbing, and other troubling aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Life After Deployment:
Military families share reunion stories and adviceAuthor: Karen M. Pavlicin, Copyright @ 2007
Life after Deployment captures the tender and moving stories of military families during their reunion. Service members and their spouses, parents, fiancees, and children share the joy and anxiety of homecoming, the adjustments of living together again, and how they coped with anger, depression, PTSD, injuries, grief, and other challenges.
Some families had fairytale endings. Most worked hard to rebuild their relationships after much time and change. A few suffered great losses. These military families talk candidly about what their experience was really like, offering hope and advice to others who walk this journey.
The Road Home:
Smoothing the transition back from deploymentAuthor: Elaine Gray Dumler, Copyright @ 2009The Road Home is the newest addition to the I'm Already Home book series which is widely used by more than 56,000 military families. This comprehensive resource meets the specific needs of families in all branches of service transitioning back to "real life" as their service member returns from deployment. Many military families struggle with both the joys and challenges of the reintegration process and they're looking for answers. Continuing in the tradition of supplying great information, stories and support websites to service families, The Road Home helps you quickly find information about the issues and concerns that are personal to you! Some of what you'll find in The Road Home: Homecoming - beyond the balloons and parties; "What do you mean by that?" - Improving communication; "But Dad said I could!" - Tackling discipline while maintaining a united front; "How the heck did my butt get so big?" - Image, sex and intimacy; "Am I normal?" - Adjusting to your new normal; "What do I do now?" - Getting back in the swing of things with family, job and community; "I did not sign up for this!" - Combat Stress, PTSD, wounded warriors, dealing with loss; "You need attention too" - The unique needs of blended families, single service members and extended families...plus so much more! You'll also find over 250 military focused web resources and military discounts for continued assistance. Reunion isn't all about balloons and parties--it just starts there. During your tour of duty things changed...as they had to. Now it's your job to adjust to those changes, find your family's "new" normal, and settle back into your life together. The Road Home is the beginning of your journey.
Turning Your Heart Toward Home Workbook:
A workbook for re-integration and re-adjustmentAuthor: Bridgett C. Cantrell with Chuck Dean
Copyright
Perhaps we now have the opportunity to make up the ground we lost when our troops came home from previous wars. “Turning Your Heart Toward Home” is a course that utilizes many lessons learned from the past. It provides tools for warriors to reintegrate with their loved ones upon returning from their military assignments.
The combination of educational skills and experiences have structured this powerful course entitled “Turning Your Heart Toward Home”. This vital information addresses and resolves many of the destructive issues surrounding relationship reintegration when soldiers return home from war.
During the course, war veterans and family members alike are directed to the core concerns that work against healthy reconnections. Using step-by-step inventories participants are guided toward rebuilding healthy relationships.
While You Were Away - 101 Tips for When They're Back:
A reunion guide for military familiesAuthor: Megan Egerton-Graham, Copyright 2011
This book provides 101 practical tips to help military families successfully re-unite after an extended absence or deployment of a family member. These tips provide clear and easy activities to help families through this happy but challenging time.
____________________________________________________________________
Jobs and the Military Spouse, 2nd Edition:
Married, Mobile, and Motivated for Employment Author: Janet I. Farley, Copyright @ 2003This book reveals the secrets of job search success for military spouses, who face special career challenges because of their mobility.
____________________________________________________________________
Jobs and the Military Spouse, 2nd Edition:
Married, Mobile, and Motivated for Employment Author: Janet I. Farley, Copyright @ 2003This book reveals the secrets of job search success for military spouses, who face special career challenges because of their mobility.
A Cup of Comfort for Military Families:
Stories that celebrate heroism on the home front Edited by Colleen Sell, Copyright @ 2008It has been said that military life is "not for the faint of heart." But neither is it without its benefits and blessings. One thing is certain: It is an experience like no other--for both the service men and women and their famlies.
In A Cup of Comfort for Military Families, you will experience the familiar pride that wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, siblings, and friends feel when their loved one chooses to put his or her needs aside for the benefit of our country. Featuring stories from the current Iraq war as well as stories of those who have long retired from the service, this timely collection is sure to span generations--and touch your heart.
A Year of Absence:
Six women's stories of courage, hope and loveAuthor: Jessica Redmond, Copyright @ 2005
A Year of Absence follows the lives of six women whose husbands, all members of the U.S. Army's First Armored Division based in Germany, deploy to Iraq in April 2003. A young lieutenant's wife comes dangerously close to alcoholism. Marriages are pushed to the breaking point by the constant strain of fifteen months apart. Each morning the women anxiously scan the headlines, wondering if they still have a husband, if their children still have a father. Some form friendships that become their lifeline. Others somehow find courage despite their isolation.
Behind the Blue-Star Banner:
A memoir from the home frontAuthor: Michelle Cuthrell, Copyright @ 2006
Michelle Cuthrell was 23 years old, nine months out of college and 11 weeks pregnant with her first child when her husband deployed to Iraq in August 2005.
With a baby in her belly and a husband in her heart, this newlywed embarked on a crazy journey that led her through a year of tests and trials, heartbreak and hard times, as she lived alone in the freezes and frosts of Fairbanks, Alaska. There, Michelle endured the pregnancy and rearing of the couple's first and only child as her husband, Matt, served with the 172nd Stryker brigade in Mosul, Iraq.
But when the Department of Defense extended Matt's unit for four additional months in country, just 10 days shy of his much-anticipated homecoming after a year at war, Michelle temporarily fell apart. It was in those difficult days that she learned the real value of friendship, faith and unfailing love.
Behind the Blue-Star Banner documents Michelle's 16-month journey to reunion, and the lessons she learned about true service and sacrifice along the way.
*SPECIAL DISCOUNT* Save $4.00 per book with a bulk purchase (22 minimum) by ordering through
Called to Serve:
Encouragement, Support, and Inspiration for Military FamiliesAuthors: Tony Monetti, Penny Monetti, Copyright @ 2011
Over 2.9 million military personnel—facing serious emotional and spiritual challenges— serve in more than 150 countries. Called to Serve professionally pinpoints the needs of the military family. Real-life stories drawn from twenty-three years of military experience offer encouragement, humor, and tools to combat relational threats from the perspective of the “Warrior” (husband) and his “Spouse.” Thirty compelling, uplifting, and encouraging chapters address the top identified military stressors affecting military personnel and their families. Each account, tied to relevant Scripture, whets the spiritual palate, encouraging the reader to seek additional encouragement from the Bible.
Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul
101 stories to touch the heart and rekindle the spirit Authors: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Charles Preston and Cindy PedersonCopyright @ 2005
A tribute to the women who uphold the written and unwritten oaths of service and of marriage.
All military personnel swear an oath to uphold the constitution and protect our country, while their spouses take the unwritten oath to live a life of frequent moves, lengthy separations and endless anxieties. Their commitment requires a unique blend of patriotism, dedication, hard work and, most of all, flexibility.
The stories in Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul are written by military famiy members and the courageous women who themselves serve in the military. Each page celebrates the women who unite with kindred spirits to raise families, maintain homes and uphold the most positive attitudes when facing the fears of losing a loved one.
This special volume celebrates the unique bond between military wives and their spouses and thier dedication to home and country.
Confessions of a Military Wife
Author: Mollie Gross, Copyright @ 2009
"I remember when I hit rock bottom. There I was with no make-up on, hadn't showered, eating raw cookie dough out of the tube, hitting on the toothless bagger at the commissary, and ordering jewelry off the TV. And that was just my first day!"
Confessions of a Military Wife is an honest, witty, and often hilarious look at the life of the new generation military wife. Mollie Gross learned the hard way to laugh instead of cry at what she could not control as a military spouse-and as she quickly discovered, nearly everything was out of her control!
A standup comedienne, public speaker, and wife of a Marine Corps officer, Mollie explores everything about the "issued" spouse, from deployment and the stress of having a husband in a combat zone, to the realization that marriage changes when your husband returns home from war. Nothing is taboo or out-of-bounds in Confessions, including the "parties" military wives throw for themselves before hubby returns. (You'll have to read the book to find out about those!)
More than one million American servicemen have deployed to war over the last few years, which means the lives and lifestyles of military wives are now front and center in the public's curiosity. How do they live? What is their day-to-day life like? How do they interact? How do they deal with weeks and months of separation? The answers will surprise (and in some cases, shock) you. Confessions teaches all women, whether civilian or military, that they can learn to find the funny side of anything by embracing the situation and changing their perspective. And now they can do so with humor and levity, and a little wisdom.
Evocative and provocative, Confessions of a Military Wife is a can't-put-down book that will leave you laughing and crying at the same time.
Confessions of the Military Wife
Author: Jocelyn Corbin, Copyright @ 2009
A book of heartfelt poetry written by an Army wife and veteran. Sharing a story of deployment, struggle, and separation, Jocelyn Corbin's poetry will touch the soul of anyone who has ever loved a service member.
Dear Soldier:
Heartfelt letters from America's childrenAuthor: Barbara W. Baldwin, Copyright @ 2009
This collection of letters from across the United States written in each child's own hand, offers active duty soldiers and veterans and their families comfort, reassurance, and a delightful dose of humor.
D is for Deployment
Author: Jocelyn Corbin, Copyright @ 2009D is for Deployment is a unique alphabet book that explores the emotions and actions of military children. It is an essential addition to the library of any military child coping with separation. Each line and photograph provides a sincere look into the world of the military family.
E-mail to the Front:
One wife's correspondence with her husband overseasAuthor: Alesia Holliday, Copyright @ 2003
"6/9: Evidently I wasn't supposed to put so much oil in the mower. The smoke went away fairly quickly, though. Connor even got to go for a ride in the fire truck."Alesia Holliday has survived scenes like this and more while her husband, a naval flight officer, has been away on military duty. They have forged a different kind of marriage-one that the 1.5 million current active-duty service members and their families will identify with. E-mail to the Front has a large built-in audience that boasts a camaraderie strengthened by shared difficulties and discoveries. E-mail to the Front consists of short commentaries by Alesia and an e-mail dialogue between her and her husband while he was on deployment. In text filled with empathy, gut-level honesty, humor, and unflinching support, chapters cover everything from "Departure: Only 183 Days to Go" to "Rebellion of the Appliances" to "It's Like Being a Single Mother, but I Can't Date." E-mail to the Front will appeal to everyone who appreciates the courage of those who choose to serve their country, the families who are meeting the challenge of military duty, and those who love and support them. Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry has written a cover quote for the book, and best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann said "This book should be required reading for all Americans."
Family Print:
A family's unique reflections during warAuthors: Tim and Tiffany Stoner, Copyright @ 2009
Army National Guardsman Major Timothy Stoner, commander of Indiana's first BlackHawk unit in Iraq, and his wife Tiffany chronicle their journey into and out of war.
Stemming from the blog established as their primary means of communication during wartime, FamilyPrint: One family's unique reflection during war, tells the story of this family of six.
Trading wingtips for combat boots and managing four children under the age of six, Tim and Tiffany transform their difficulty into an experience of graciousness, growth and gratitude. “The dialogue drew in our families and supporters and touched so many people’s lives,” says Major Stoner, who was awarded the Bronze Star during his deployment. “It became our compass and the foundation for what created this book.”
Not only does FamilyPrint depict this candid wartime experience with words, but also via the breathtaking photography of Nathan Rowe, who beautifully captures the agony of separation and the utter joy of coming home.
Indiana’s Governor, Mitch Daniels says, “When a National Guardsman deploys there are truly two people at war: the soldier who goes to fight the enemy and the spouse who stays behind to face, in many ways, an equally difficult task. Tim and Tiffany Stoner’s new book is a useful reminder of the debt we owe to both members of any National Guard Family.”
Found Art:
Discovering beauty in foreign placesAuthor: Leeana Tankersley, Copyright @ 2009
Fount Art is a memoir of the year author Leeana Tankersley lived in the Middle East with her Navy SEAL husband during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As her story unfolds, Leeana finds her life and her soul have been changed forever.
With an artist's eye, Tankersley uses each chapter to piece together moments and memories from her journey to create a work of unexpected beauty: a handwritten note from Kuwait, a braid of fringe from a Persian rug, an original poem, a bit of basting thread, a swatch of black silk from a borrowed abaya, a mesquite leaf, a Navy SEAL trident, a receipt from a Russian-Georgian restaurant on Louisana Street.
Found art emerges, a literary collage created from salvaged stories of loss, hope, and belief.
From a Pebble to a Rock:
Life stories from the homefront to encourage the hearts of everywomanAuthor: Patti A. Correa, Copyright @ 2004
How do they do it? is the question often asked as we see wives, mothers, and daughters of military men go day by day faced with loneliness, more responsibility, and uncertainty that come with separation. Follow me as women on the home front tell their true-life, heartwarming stories of love, weakness, and strength during times of separation. These stories of survivial will show you the love they have for their husbands, dads, sons, and uncles and their perseverance to keep the families together.
Home and Away:
A Story of Family in a Time of WarAuthors: Nancy French, David French, Copyright @ 2011
David French picked up the newspaper in the comfort of his penthouse in Philadelphia, and read about a soldier - father of two - who was wounded in Iraq. Immediately, he was stricken with a question: Why him and not me?
This is the story of what happens when a person - rather a family - answers the call to serve their nation. David was a 37-year-old father of two, a Harvard Law graduate and president of a free speech organization. In other words, he was used to pushing pencils, not toting M16s.
His wife Nancy was raising two children and writing from home. She was worrying about field trips and playdates, not about her husband going to war.
Home and Away chronicles not just a soldier at war, but a family at war - a husband in Iraq, a wife and children at home, greeting each day with hope and fear, facing the challenge with determination, tears, and more than a little joy.
Homefires:
War through the eyes of a military wife Author: Sherry Hines, Copyright @ 2004Household Baggage (2nd Edition):
The moving life of a military wife Author: Marna Krajeski, Copyright @ 2008 Household Baggage is an entertaining collection of funny, poignant, and disarmingly candid essays about today's military family, where marriage and motherhood endure frequent moves, long separations, uncomfortable living quarters, and wartime deployments. Brides new to the service and seasoned military wives will find the light-hearted insights helpful, the more serious issues invaluable. It's the perfect read for any military spouse who welcomes an extended hand, a sympathetic ear, and comic relief.
Household Baggage Handlers:
56 stories from the hearts and lives of military wivesAuthor: Marna Krajeski, Copyright @ 2008 In this deeply personal collection of stories, 48 wives share their total embarrassments, tragic experiences, and tender emotions as they tackle the daily dramas of military life. By turns touching and hilarious, Household Baggage Handlers opens the door on an often overlooked world, one which requires the independence and survival skills to: Move overseas while six months pregnant; Manage labor, delivery, and a newborn.without a spouse; Nurse a critically injured husband back to health; Confront the sight of someone in uniform at the front door; Shelter five children alone during a tornado; Cope with bats, blizzards, and broken cars during deployments. Read all about it in their own words. With anecdotes from WWII to the present, these compelling stories capture a sisterhood forged by extraordinary circumstances.
I'm Just Saying...
A collection of essays Author: Sarah Smiley, Copyright @ 2008Learn the military's phonetic alphabet if you wish, but I prefer to irritate my husband by making up my own instead...this is only slightly less efficient but much more Fabio-Underpants-Naked. - Sarah Smiley in I'm Just Saying...
For nearly five years, Sarah Smiley has been entertaining readers of her syndicated newspaper column "Shore Duty" with tales of being a military wife and mother of three young boys. Now Smiley's best work is gathered in one collection.
The 288-page paperback book includes forewords by Carol Leifer (former writer for "Saturday Night Live" and "Seinfeld," the basis for the character Elaine on "Seinfeld," and screenwriter for Paramount Television's proposed adaptation of Smiley's columns for a half-hour sitcom) and Ward Carroll (author, former Navy pilot, and current managing editor of Military.com).
With commentary on everything from husbands who leave their lunch on top of their car to Amish Friendship Bread and why children are always bumping heads, Smiley's writing will "put a grin on your face," says Time Bete, Director of the Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop. "Even those with no connection to the military will relate," writes Bernie Grimm, Fox News Analyst.
Memoirs of a Soldiers Wife
Author: Wendy Peterson, Copyright @ 2010
Everyone has a different story; everyone has a different issue in their life that makes him or her stronger. Across America, many women share the experience and circumstances of being a "soldier's wife". They share the experience of being lonely, frustrated upset and depressed. What is the general perception of a "soldiers wife"? Overall the depth and understanding of what it takes to fulfill the role of a soldier's wife or military spouse is often discredited or overlooked. Society has made the assumption that military families are well supported and that their households are equally sustained. Many people may simply believe that being married to a US soldier is no different than being married to a US Citizen. If that is your belief, prepare to be enlightened.
Military Moments:
Words to honor our American HeroesAuthor: Thena Smith, Copyright @ 2006
Original sentiments of gratitude for those who serve and protect our nation. A must-read for strength, hope and comfort during a loved one's deployment. Truly a great resource for cardmaking, scrapbooking or any craft project. The perfect anytime gift for military servicemen, women and their families.
My Blissful Life as a Submariner's Wife
Author: MJ Allaire, Copyright @ 2009
Imagine yourself as a young mother, half the world away from loved ones as a military dependent, then compound this with the much larger challenge of raising a family by yourself because your military spouse is always gone. No amount of money can replace when an active duty military member misses some of life's major milestones, such as the birth of a child, a baby's first steps, or a high school graduation. Follow one woman as she struggles to provide balance and stability to her dependent children while her husband serves his country. Her trials and tribulations will provide insight to just a few of the challenges faced by today's military family. Think you understand the life of a military dependent? Think again ...
My Hero:
Military Kids Write About Their Moms and DadsAuthors: Allen Appel, Mike Rothmiller, Copyright @ 2008
Working through the Armed Services YMCA, the authors have collected more than one hundred essays from children whose parents are serving or have served in the military. The children's heartfelt, moving, sometimes funny and completely honest observations about their moms and dads truly capture the emotional connection between parent and child. It is a connection that cannot be severed even when a parent is thousands of miles away, gone for long stretches of time, and in danger.
Inspiring, heartbreaking, and genuine, this book provides a fascinating look inside the hearts and minds of kids who love and honor their moms and dads as heroes - at home or on the battlefield.
My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife
A One-Year Experiment...and Its Surprising ResultsAuthor: Sara Horn, Copyright @ 2011
Author Sara Horn always admired the Proverbs 31 wife, but when she became a busy writer and mother, she deemed this model to be dated and impossible. Or is it? Join Sara as she heads into a one-year domestic experiment and offers full access to see if this biblical model can be embraced by a modern woman—even one who can’t sew.
With humility and humor, Sara sets out to pursue the Proverbs 31 characteristics through immersing herself in all things domestic, but when her family's situation changes and she must return to a full-time job, she's forced to look at the Proverbs 31 woman with a whole new viewpoint. Through it all, she and readers discover:
- what it means to be a godly woman and a wife
- how investing in family and faith refines priorities as a spouse and a parent
- how mistakes are opportunities for growth
This thought-provoking, surprising, and entertaining personal account will inspire women to try their own experiments in living out God’s purpose for their lives.
PCSing...It's a Spouse Thing!
Author: Julie Negron, Copyright @ 2010Jenny follows the adventures of a young Air Force spouse determined to overcome the challenges of a military lifestyle.
Drawn from the real lives of both contributors and the cartoonist, Jenny’s experiences reflect the humor, ingenuity, and sheer determination necessary to be successful as the spouse of an active duty military member.
Portraits of the Toughest Job in the Army:
Voices and faces of modern army wives Author: Janelle Mock, Copyright @ 2007 My husband’s aspirations in the Army are as high as the moon some days and deep into the sea the next. He loves it, I know it, but he doesn’t like having to be away from us. It’s hard to explain to people that your husband wants to go to war, but he does. He wants the experience. That is what he is trained to do. He feels as though he can’t really know how long he wants to be in the Army until he has that experience behind him. I want what is best for him. I fear the danger of war, but I know he will not feel complete doing time in the Army until he sets foot on foreign soil. I am afraid, but I have to have a peace about it, because if I don’t, I won’t survive if he doesn’t return. We have a peace that, whether together or apart, we are a family, always. I don’t know exactly how or why I feel this way. Maybe, it’s because my husband has been a Christian all his life. I can’t put into words what type of peace that brings. Death, injury, or deployment, we are a family. I will always stand by my soldier and I will always stand by my husband.
Spouses Also Serve
Author: Tiffany A. Booher, Copyright @ 2007Through her unmatched ability to introduce readers to a military spouse's thoughts and feelings with diary entries and poetry, author Tiffany Booher exposes you to the heart and soul of the military spouse. The National Anthem plays and tears stream down your cheeks. Night after night you sleep in a lonely bed, fearing the unknown, and fighting tears and longing. The telephone rings and it is the call you never imagined you d hear. Through her unmatched ability to introduce readers to a military spouse's thoughts and feelings with diary entries and poetry, author Tiffany Booher exposes you to the heart and soul of the military spouse. Then, by carefully selecting Bible verses to provide both biblical strength and guidance for the spouse, Tiffany helps build faith and comfort in some of the best and worst times a military spouse may encounter. This book is a must-read for both military and non-military women and men across America. For it is not just the military members that serve our nation: their spouses also serve.
Standing By:
The making of an American military family in a time of war Author: Alison Buckholtz , Copyright @ 2009Alison Buckholtz never dreamed she would marry a military man, but when she met her husband, an active-duty Navy pilot, nothing could stop her from building a life with him— not even his repeated attempts to talk her out of marriage. He didn’t want her to have to make the kinds of sacrifices long required of the spouses of military personnel. They wed shortly after September 11, 2001 and, since then, their life together has been marked by long separations and unforeseen challenges, but also unexpected rewards.
Standing By is Buckholtz’s candid and moving account of her family’s experiences during her husband’s seven-month deployment on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. With insight and humor she describes living near a military base in Washington State, far from home and in the midst of great upheaval, while trying to keep life as normal as possible for the couple’s two young children. But she is not alone in her struggle. In Standing By, Buckholtz portrays her friendships with other military wives and the ways in which this supportive community of women helps one another to endure—to even thrive—during difficult times.
Throughout Standing By, Buckholtz speaks honestly about the culture shock she experienced transitioning into the role of a military wife. Because she had been raised to conquer the world on her own terms rather than be a more traditional wife and mother supporting her husband’s career, the world of the Armed Forces was at first as unfamiliar as a foreign land. But a remarkable and surprising series of events has challenged her long-held assumptions about the military, motherhood, and even the nature of American citizenship.
A rare and intimate portrait of one of the tens of thousands of families who now wait patiently for their service member to return home safely, Standing By is a window into what matters most for families everywhere
The Day After He Left for Iraq:
A story of love, family, and reunion Author: Melissa Seligman, Copyright @ 2008Melissa Seligman is something rare in the world of military families—a military wife who is also a beautiful writer. Here she describes her feelings as she watches her husband walk away from her and her newborn, knowing full well that he might not return from the war in Iraq. She experiences saying goodbye twice—both times he left when their children were still infants. While he’s away from home again, Melissa struggles to remember the goodness of her husband and the joy of their life together. Working hard to raise a baby and a four-year old, Melissa tells of the heartbreak and desperation she experiences at home. She watches her daughter clutch a G.I. Joe doll she’s named “Little Daddy,” and wonders if the family will make it through.
Hers is a story of sadness and strength, desperation and hope, displacement and unity. It’s a story that anyone left behind (and we have all been left behind) will respond to, one that, unfortunately, is becoming more and more common as the war in Iraq continues. This is a work of timely and powerful non-fiction by a significant new author.
The Fighter Pilot's Wife:
A Military Family's Story Author: Gilbertha Guth, Copyright @ 2005Offering an inside look at military family life spanning WWII through the Korean and Vietnam Wars, this memoir not only chronicles the heroism of those in combat but that of the wives and families at home as they live under the constant shadow of potential loss. Married at the age of 22 to a dashing young jet pilot, young bride Gilberta Guth embarked on what was for many years a global journey, following her husband all over the world as he pursued his career. From their honeymoon in Las Vegas to an Ichibon sayonara and a St. Gobain au revoir to his final assignment in civilian life, she stood by his side and raised their four children. In the process she learned to cope with the tragic death of young pilots and how the other wives and family members comforted the widows and helped them pack up their children and leave the familial embrace of the military. Reproductions of letters, photos, and newspaper clippings further enrich this moving account of the challenges faced by a military family in both wartime and peacetime.
The Five Star Life of a Military Wife
Author: Karin Jarrett, Copyright @ 2009Older military spouses can recall similar experiences. Newer military spouses can look forward to them. Non-military readers can enjoy a twenty-eight year tour of active duty through The Five Star Life of a Military Wife without the actual need for moving vans, passports and change-of-address forms. Enjoy an amusing travelogue from post to post in the United States, plus travels twice around the world including tours of duty in Germany, Israel, Iran and Egypt's Sinai Desert.
The Life of a Navy Wife
Author: Jasa L. Bowser-Shaw, Copyright @ 2004Jasa Shaw was a young married Navy wife at the tender age of 18, learning about the Navy via day-to-day experiences. Some of the experiences were positive, some werent. But these experiences helped her to realize that Navy wives are a special breed. The old saying about Navy wives, It is the toughest job in the Navy, seemed so cliché before, but it now rings so true. Navy wives do have a tough job and give up so much for their husbands careers. This book tells some of the good, the bad, and the ugly, though not necessarily in that order. It also contains some good information and ideas for living the Navy lifestyle. Read and laugh along with Jasa as she tells her experiences, which are relatable to every military wifes life, and know that you arent alone!
365 Days of Deployment:
A wife's survival story Author: Sara Dawalt, Copyright @ 2007Follows a military wife's experiences during her husband's deployment to Iraq. Filled with laughter, tears, and everything in between, this book explores the wide-ranging emotions brought about by a loved one's deployment. Through self-exploration Sara Dawalt explores the skills necessary to cope and make sense of her life during a point of turmoil. She reaches a turning point and gains a new understanding of herself, life, and how to survive deployment. Her quest for happiness during what could have been her darkest year will touch your life. Dawalt shows you how each day apart from a loved one at war can be a meaningful experience.
Under the Sabers:
The unwritten code of army wives Author: Tanya Biank, Copyright @ 2006Under the Sabers is a groundbreaking narrative detailing the complex personal challenges Army wives face and presenting a provocative new look at Army life. Tanya Biank goes beyond the sound bites and photo ops of military life and shows what it is really like to be an Army wife. From hauling furniture off the rental truck by yourself at a new duty station when your husband is in the field to comforting your son who wants his dad home from Afghanistan for his fifth birthday, she takes readers into the hearts and homes of today's military wives.
We Band of Sisters
Author: Gwen C. Rollings, Copyright @ 2007She fell in love with her brother's drill instructor and stuck by his side through their rollercoaster military life and his retirement as a major general. Gwen Rollings tells with humor and honesty the heartfelt story of her life as a Marine wife, one that will resonate with any military wife today.
When Will My Ship Come In?
The misadventures of a Navy wife Author: L.A. Krueger, Copyright @ 2006What’s a girl to do? Her husband ships out on an aircraft carrier for months on end leaving this naïve newlywed to deal not only with boredom and loneliness, but with psychotic house cats and uppity appliances as well! When Will My Ship Come In? The Misadventures of a Navy Wife is a hilarious romp through one woman’s encounter with the United States Navy and how she lived to tell about it.
While They're at War:
The true story of American families on the homefrontAuthor: Kristin Henderson, Copyright @ 2006"Most of us are aware of the horrors of war and of the sacrifice made by our fighting men and women. Less well understood is the burden borne by the families our service members leave behind. While They're at War reveals their solidarity and hope; their loneliness and anguish in the face of uncertainty. Authentic and from-the-heart, this is a piece of often untold American history, and a must-read for those both in and out of uniform." Review from Senator John McCain
Military life, deployment, reintegration books
___________________________________________________________________
Click on the links below to see the list of books for each category:
resources
Deployment support for
Resources for
Military life
Free downloads for kids & teens
Encouragement
Need help?
