I was shipped a copy of the book You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon, for review recently.
I had it sitting in my pile of books to read, and I picked it up one night when I was missing Gunner.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
Really, seriously, I loved it. I've actually read it two times since then.
"There is an army of women waiting for their men to return in Fort Hood, Texas. Through a series of loosely interconnected stories, Siobhan Fallon takes readers onto the base, inside the homes, into the marriages and families-intimate places not seen in newspaper articles or politicians' speeches."
After spending over 6 years at Fort Hood, meeting my husband while he was stationed there the first time, and having our son there, Fort Hood will always hold a special place in my heart. Many of the places that she mentions I have been, which made the stories seem even more real.
You can watch a preview of the book here:
After each of the stories, I would have to put down the book and think. Some of these stories I have seen played out in real life, which made it hard, because I could think of Soldiers and their families that lived these "fictional" stories.
The back of the book reads: "There is an army of women waiting for their men to return to Fort Hood, Texas. As Siobhan Fallon shows in this collection of loosely interconnected short stories, each woman deals with her husband's absence differently. One wife, in an attempt to avoid thinking about the risks her husband faces in Iraq, develops an unhealthy obsession with the secret life of her neighbor. Another woman's simple trip to the PX becomes unbearable when she pulls into her Gold Star parking space. And one woman's loneliness may lead to dire consequences when her husband arrives home. In gripping, no-nonsense stories that will leave you shaken, Siobhan Fallon allows you into a world tightly guarded by gates and wire. It is a place where men and women cling to the families they have created as the stress of war threatens to pull them apart."
Siobhan Fallon is an Army Wife, who has been through two deployments of her own.
Because I LOVED this book so much, I have ONE book to give away! Just leave a comment below and let me know how you deal with the stress of war. (Limited to US addresses, APO and FPO as well)
My way of dealing with stress? The last two deployments it has been working out. For one or more hours a day, I can focus on myself, what I need to do, and the stress of everything disappears. Not that it doesn't come back afterwards, but I have a reprieve. How do you handle the stress of deployments?
I will draw for the winner on Wednesday January 19th!
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22 comments:
There was a blurb from the book in the Reader's Digest I was reading the other day. I added it to my list of books to read.
I fortunately haven't had to deal with a true deployment, so I don't know how I will handle it. I have one coming up, so I plan to keep myself as busy as humanly possible. Otherwise I'll go crazy!
I set goals for myself! I also worked out at night so it would be easier to fall asleep! Nights always seemed to be the loneliest :(
I clean. There is always something that needs to be done. I have always dealt with stress by cleaning but when he is gone I will find myself cleaning something at some random hour of night.
I don't really know how I will deal with deployments, since KS hasn't been on one. Yet.
I try to continue on with normal day to day activities. The kids and I still go out and do the same things we would do if he was here.
I also like to work out to relieve stress too.
I try to maintain as normal a schedule as possible. I'm an FRG leader so that keeps me pretty busy as well and there's always something to do around the house.
I deal with the stress of deployments by making myself incredibly busy and surrounding myself with friends :)
weezziee@gmail.com
I work as much as I can and spend time with my family as much as I can. I also spend a lot of time thinking of things I can send him to make his time just a little easier, a little piece of home. I also started making blankets, and have sold 6 since Christmas! I am trying to better myself, so that when he comes home, life will be a little bit easier.
Girlfriends and staying busy! I think I might have torn my hair out if I had been sitting around with no one to talk to for the year!
This last deployment (our 3rd) I decided I would work. So I work full-time in an Alzheimer's and Dementia Unit. I also cleaned a ton and made it a priority to get together with friends as often as possible. I also read! I am a true book worm during deployments. If it weren't for having these routines I probably would have fallen apart when I found out my husband was injured.
I take lots of pictures of the kids, and work out and take classes. The Kiddos keep me super busy and well entertained. I also like to out do the weight of the box before when I ship Hubby anything. It's a personal contest that I enjoy each deployment.
I've lived here at Hood since 2003. Hated it at first, but now it's home. :)
I deal with the stress of deployment by keeping us on our regular schedule/way of life as much as possible. I also try to find some 'me' time, even if it means going to bed early just so I can collect a thought without interruption.
I have heard so many good things about this book! Thanks for offering us this giveaway!
As for dealing with the stress of war, our 1st deployment is sloooowly coming to an end. Joe and I have been planning our future, and it's very helpful to know that this one moment isnt what life is all about, we have a future, I shouldnt wallow in this one sad moment, or the next, because we have an awesome future to start when he gets back. And this thought alone gets me through the rough stuff.
I deal with deployment stress by, working out a LOT and eating way too much junk food. However I'm still usually a mess about 60% of the time. With no kids to distract me, being the owner of an old house (always needs something) and a bunch of dogs, I def dont thrive when he's gone
This sounds like a good book. I'll see if the library here has it :D
I handled the stress of my husband's deployments by writing!!!
Thank you for the fantastic review, Army Blogger Wife, and to all you gals whose soldiers are gone or getting ready to go. You are all amazing.
Best,
Siobhan Fallon
www.siobhanfallon.com
I'm in Germany and don't have any family here for support so I've just been staying busy with friends and school. Having a goal to finish my degree by the time he returns has made things a lot easier.
We are preparing for our first deployment. We joined this lifestyle late in the game (both 30) so it's been challenging! I handle stress by educating myself, learning from others, and keeping every day life as normal as possible. I'd love love love to read this book!
My new saying "Quick! Somebody get me a straw so I can suck it up!"
Working out and purging 12 yrs of accumulated stuff. I got rid of so many truckfuls of stuff we have been carting around the country. My life felt so much easier to manage when I didn't have so much excess stuff to work around.
I also watched the tv shows "Intervention" and "Hoarders" to motivate me to keep putting one foot in front of the other and not turn to substances or compulsive shopping to get me through!
This looks like an awesome book!
I like to focus on different projects during the deployment. Helps me keep my mind off of things.
Sounds like an awesome book.
We are coming up on our third deployment and I wonder how I will deal with it this time around. The first time I was a bit naïve thinking that nothing bad would happen and that I was just merely waiting for him to come home. I wrote him, em-mailed him, talked when we could....he knew every second of my days. We had a hard adjustment when he came back that nearly broke us but we made it through. The second deployment I pulled away from him a lot because of the experience I had when he came back from the first one. We adjusted fine. This time we have kids...and I don't worry about me and him nearly as much as I worry about the kids. :) We shall see how it goes.
I stay as busy as possible
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