Customer Reviews

Homefront Club: The Hardheaded Woman's Guide to Raising a Military Family

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just got this book. During two little league baseball games yesterday afternoon, I started it. Congratulations to Jacey Eckhart on some fine work. I think this is the best book I've read in the military wife genre.

My husband is in the army and I have read many of these type books over his twenty years in service. I never thought they quite captured the complexities of this life. Homefront Club is the first.

Don't be misled by the word "guide" in the title. It is not another manual on how to decipher acronyms or read your husband's earnings statement. This book is a funny and honest analysis of the military life. You'll be glad you read it! Marna Krajeski, author of Household Baggage: The Moving Life of a Soldier's Wife

My husband is in the USMC and we have been married for 11 years with two children. Military life is something difficult to really explain to a new spouse or even your own family after many years. Ms Eckart gives the reader much more than the usual how to, but what to expect as spouse. Her insight is more from a friend's point of view....the great friend you'd meet who would tell if you had something in your teeth at a party. She is funny, honest, and gathered wisdom that is without a doubt years of "ah ha" moments for spouses.

I most enjoyed Ms Echart's personal experiences with her family and Navy life. There was several times I had to read sections to my husband because I had literally laughed out loud.

The USMC has a program for spouses, families and girlfriends/boyfriends called LINKS. The other services have the same program, different name. LINKS gives the basic scoop on military life. I highly reccomend Homefront Club for the program as well as for anyone you know or love in our military family!

While some of Jacey's views may seem a bit old fashioned or naive, and despite the fact that she comes from the world of the 'officer's wife,' which is slightly different from my world, the world of the 'enlisted wife,' I found this book to be more realistic than anything comparable I have yet read.

Reading through this book actually felt like chatting with an old friend, a fellow military wife, a mentor. Some of the author's points were so poignant that they literally brought tears to my eyes!

Jacey hits on all aspects of military family life: marriage, moving, deployments, community, parenting, careers, and eventual retirement. There is no arrogance, bitterness, or cynicism here, just plain honesty and a realistic yet positive mental attitude, which we all need to cultivate in this difficult lifestyle!

I passed this book on to another military wife the very day I finished reading it, because I think it is well worth reading for both the new military wife (in any service) and the seasoned military wife of many years. A highly recommended read!

i think this is one of the best i have read help me with understanding that we some times have to do for our selfs as well as our men. I even made my hubby read it!

I found this book to be incredibly helpful when I decided to marry my Marine. While some of what she writes is definitely Navy (ombudsman, for example) it can still be applied to any branch, by simply translating the lingo (Ombudsman into Key Volunteer for USMC). I have found this book helpful in finding a career at our new duty station in Japan (it's okay to Starbuck sometimes!), for understanding my husband when he got home from deployment, and I'm sure it will be helpful when we have children. It's nice to read a book with real stories, real life, and real lessons learned. I have learned to be a happy military wife with this book, and am forever grateful.
I also had the chance to meet the author when she came to my workplace where we're stationed. She's so honest and real and funny that I can't help but love the book more!
A definite must for the new, frustrated, or expert military wife. Everyone can use a laugh, and the knowledge they're not the only one who's life can fall apart at the seams every three years. =)

I love this book for its uplifting and real tone. Write more for us wives!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, unlike some of its dry counterparts Jacey's personality shined through on every page making me wish she lived close enough for coffee! Im sure that she made each reader feel like her friend, she offered knowledge without being condescending, without making
me feel small or making her seem superior. I only wish it was longer because as I read the last page I was sad and felt like I was losing a friend, ending a very long, much enjoyed conversation. Im sure during the hard and lonely times I will pick up the book and read it again because it reminds me that someone else understands...isn't that funny, I live among thousands of military families but its a book that comforts me.

This was an amusing bit of reading, with some tidbits I found useful as an Army wife and mother of a toddler, with quite a bit of time remaining for our service. However, there's a lot that was lacking for the current times. A lot has changed in the last few years regarding the family of a Military member, and perhaps a new edition should be written.

This is hands-down the best military wife book I've read - and I have a shelf full of them.

Unlike some, which focus on ettiquette, or others, which focus on benefits and how to work the maze of military agencies, Jacey Eckhart helps you adapt to the THRIVING as a military spouse.

Eckhart is a Navy wife, but don't let that turn you off if you're Army or AF. This book contains the best advice I've seen on preparing for a deployment - not just lists of what powers of attorney to have or whatnot, but how to make sure you have friends, how to make the goodbye a little easier, and so forth.

This book focuses on the fact that you can be happy as a military wife - but it requires a choice to do so, and initiative on your part to adapt well. It won't just be handed to you in a welcome basket. This book IS the welcome basket, and the new 'big sister' you need to guide you through.

Secondarily, I'd also recommend Solo-Ops: A Survival Guide for Military Wives - not as well written as this one, but more nuts-and-bolts, and very funny (if you think she's just a cynical woman, go back and read it again after you've been around the military for a few years - you'll see!) But The Homefront Club has my first recommendation these days.

I loved this book! Some parts could have been written by me. It is a great look at military life for those who are just married, married forever, with or without kids. I Jacey Eckhart did a great job giving information on all branches and making this a must read.BRAVO!