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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joys and sorrow of coming home, July 3, 2009
This review is from: The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq (Hardcover)
I happened to receive a copy of this book "fresh off the press" almost 48 hours ago. This is an outstanding book! It tells the stories of a dozen or more women serving in the U.S. military and what their experience was of coming home from war.
A few of the stories recount transitions that, relative to most of the stories, were triumphantly smooth. Most of the stories, though, tell of pain, sadness, frustration and obstacles of many kinds that complicate the process of adjusting to life outside the combat zone. I was educated about and astounded by how difficult it is for a vet to get medical attention. I had no idea how gruelling was the process of shifting one's identity from first sergeant to full-time mother.
Even those stories, however, end on notes that are to various degrees uplifting. The never-say-die spirit that the women in this book display triumphs in the end in almost all cases.
I read and enjoyed author Kirsten Holmstedt's "Band of Sisters." This is a perfect hand-in-glove partner to that book. I can imagine the two books sold as a set, in a nice slipcase! I encountered a few passages in "Marching Home" that need a bit more precision in description or narration. But apart from those moments, the writing is clean, cogent and coherent.
In "Marching Home," Ms. Holmstedt does a superb job of differentiating these soldiers, Marines, sailors, "Coasties" and USAF specialists from one another--both in terms of military duties and wartime experiences, the different cultures of their branches of service, and most of all, their personalities. One can keep the people and the stories straight from one another--they do not seem like one story repeated a dozen times.
The photos and the writing introduce us to a group of women who are smart, witty, bold, indomitable...beautiful Americans inside and out, filled with heart. I think Ms. Holmstedt must be the same kind of person--in the final chapter she recounts her own fight against secondary trauma...which is the tendency to absorb and gradually exhibit in one's own mind and actions the feelings, perceptions, fears and isolation that trauma survivors report. Counselors, relatives and close friends of combat veterans, who love and support those veterans, often experience secondary trauma ... as Ms. Holmstedt did after months of compassionately and empathically listening to the stories of the women in the book.
All of this is epic stuff. Earlier today, after having just finished the book, I noticed myself looking at young women I saw at the gas station and supermarket, and wondering, "Is she a combat vet? She COULD be." How many of us did that before the publication of "Band of Sisters" and, now, "The Girls Come Marching Home"? Ms. Holmstedt's books are incrementally transitioning us as Americans into people who routinely and without surprise see women as fighters for our country...thereby adding another nuance to what Shakespeare called woman's "infinite variety."
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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Girls? And that's how they appear, April 9, 2010
This review is from: The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq (Hardcover)
Having served in Iraq as a female military member, I cringed when I read this book. After I cringed, I was annoyed. After I was annoyed, I wondered, "Hmmm, did the author get on Oprah like she so very much intended?"
Far from giving an account of how women were "warriors" in Iraq, the author presents the women as weak, victimized, traumatized, and unable to function as well as their male counterparts. I suppose the intent is for us to feel sorry for these "girls", note their vulnerability and pity them for their drama.
Though I don't mean to downplay the negative effects that hanging out in a combat zone can have on anyone, regardless of gender, the author did an incredible disservice to women. The word "girls" in the title should be the first hint at how the author views these soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors: As little girls for whom we should feel sad.
The women I know from Iraq -- warriors -- groan that this book perpetuates an image of weak overly sensitive nurturing women scarred by combat.
Next book -- though I hope there isn't one -- it might be nice if the author at least gives the subjects the title of "women" instead of girls, and relates what makes them "warriors" instead of victims to be pitied.
This is an unfortuante book that is not an accurate cross-section or sample of women who served in Iraq.
Not recommended.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Insightful Book on Women and War!, September 1, 2009
This review is from: The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq (Hardcover)
I was already a huge fan of author Kirsten Holmstedt after I previewed her first book "Band of Sisters" for "The Military Writer's Society of America" (MWSA) and eventually gave it "The Founder's Award" for 2007. So, I was expecting something very special from her when I picked up a copy to her new book "The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq". I was not disappointed at all and in fact, I was actually blown away at the level she has taken her insightful writing to. Truly this book is not just a follow-up book to her award winning book - but is a major step up in emotion, intelligence, creative writing and in human insights. This is a great book and it will serve as an emotional touchstone for historians, women warriors, and for military families. This has all the energy of a major military classic and will influence future generations to come.
The writing is very sensitive and strong. It is easy to see how Kristen got emotionally entangled in the web of story telling while writing this book. She took the full power of all emotional hits from all of those she listened to so attentively and compassionately. She became the secondary victim by telling this tale of war and adjustment. Her writing speaks loudly of both the outer, as well as, the inner wounds of these women and what obstacles they faced. She honors their spirit by capturing the essence of their full experiences and presents them with both honesty and empathy.
The book is on my list of "The Best 25 Military Books" ever written about the current war on terrorism! This should be a must read for career military personnel and for those who wish to gain some understanding and insight into today's military culture for women. This book receives my personal endorsement and fullest recommendation. It is a 5 Star Star Book!
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