Customer Reviews

Invisible Women: Junior Enlisted Army Wives

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Though the author claims to have interviewed hundreds of spouses, she obviously choose the three that are the most appealing to someone of her stature (a former officer's wife) and has not displayed the insight for a true portrayal of the Invisible Women. Though the topic is great and many enlisted familes can see parts of themselves in some of the topics or issues, it is not a "typical" story of junior enlisted wives. It smacks of sensationalism and stories that keep the tabloids in business. Take this book with a grain of salt, and do not lump an entire group of junior enlisted spouses in the same category of these three women. This is NOT reality as we know it.

She has no clue how to do research
First off, I am a military wife. I will say that these women have valid concerns, and that what they experienced is not always uncommon- however- they chose not use the hundreds of military resources that are available to us each and every day. The military knows about these concerns- this book has unmasked nothing. What it has done, is to further foster the society imposed sterotype that military wives are unintelliegent, unemployed baby factories with little to no problem solving skills. Three women HARDLY represent the whole- out of all she interviewed she specifically chose three gals who had it rough, and did not thrive. What about the privates wife who held a job, went to school, had a child, and eventually became a teacher for the Army? Why is SHE not in this book? People believe what they read- and for this author to come in and say she did extensive research, and the best she could find were these three women, then go to lable the book an all encompassing 'junior enlisted wives'--well, she may have claimed that the book's goal was to make the government aware of our strife- but madame, let me tell you, all you have truly done, is to set back all the hard work we have done, and put us back to facing the public as so called 'poor military wives.' By the way- I am that Private's wife mentioned above. On little money, I managed to pay the rent, and have food on the table while my husband was gone to Saudi. I worked part time, and went to school, and gave birth to my first child mid semester. I completed school with child in tow, and now teach in military schools. There are many more like me out there- perhaps you would like to write another book?

I'd like to point out, first of all, that I am an officer's wife. However, I have a much different perspective than that of the author. Apparently, she has known only a handful of enlisted spouses and is not aware of the many resources available in the community where she could have pointed these women toward for help rather than letting them flounder. I've seen enlisted women who went to college and held high paying jobs, I've seen those who were stay at home moms who made ends meet however they could, I've seen those who ran businesses, I've seen those who ran the post's spouses' club, their unit's Family Readiness Group or Red Cross chapters. This is a narrowly focused book, with a microscope on the worst of military life. What's sad is that no information was provided to the public on what help these wives could have found in the military community if they had reached out for help to the appropriate source.

It is apparent that Ms. Harrell didn't do her homework very well. I could have given her a completely different view of military life. I did not marry my husband young, I have a college degree, I hold a job actually making more than my husband (an E-5) and never have I been more offended. The book does nothing to distroy the stereotypes of military wives and is just offensive.

I found this book enlightening. I understand what the author's purpose was: not to show an "average" junior enlisted spouse, but a broad range of experiences by these women. It was not to disparage, but to inform military, community and political leaders about some of the hardships these families often face. As the daughter of one Army officer, the wife of another, involved as I am in the Army community, I find this book helpful in giving me ideas on how to approach the junior enlisted spouses. Also, I found a lot of common ground with these women, although my Army and life experiences have been very different. Even though I don't have financial difficulties, I have a Masters degree and have actively sought out classes and help when needed, I too have felt vastly overwhelmed by the Army lifestyle, the experiences of being a new mom, dealing with separations from my husband, and running up against the bureaucracy. I believe this book can allow the leadership to understand the issues better and call attention to similarities between all Army spouses.

As a wife of a new recruit, the book scared me to death.....what had we gotten ourselves in to??? Then in talking with other Army families, active, retired, or just no longer in...these stories are isolated. Yes, bad things happen...civilian or military...that's life. I could write 10 books on how bad our 14 married years of civilian life were! You can take this book and read it, to help you see some of the pitfalls that can occur and hopefully prepare yourself better, or learn from mistakes made in the book. I learned more about Army life by talking to actual people than I did from reading this book. It is extreme!

Although the other women above may disagree with me, as someone who will commission as a "despised" 2LT in 10 months, I found the book helpful. No matter how uncommon these women may actually be, the fact of the matter is that the public is aware of the plight of junior enlisteds and this gives some explanation to all the bad press about food stamps and uneducated wives. The author states in her introduction that the book was written to shed light on the situation so that policymakers, officers and others with power can be informed to make decisions. I bought the book because I refuse to be the LT in the book screaming at E-2s on a 100 degree day. It is extremely helpful for understanding the culture I am about to enter. I bought the book so that I could be the officer who understood and worked to help the problem. For that purpose, it is excellent. I hope I never encounter families like the case studies, but if I do, I feel that I am now better prepared to help them. I have passed the book around the ROTC battalion with the hope of producing officers who have insight into the lives of the soldiers they lead.

In this narrative, Margaret Harrell claims to be enlightening the powers-that-be of the poverty, loneliness and lack of education that *some* junior enlisted wives encounter.Please. The aforementioned stereotypes about junior enlisted wives are old,old news. Even an officer's daughter/wife should have figured this out before performing extensive research(which,I'm sure, was done solely at the local trailer park) for a book that is a very sad stereotype of a very diverse group of people.
Junior Enlisted wives come in all colors,shapes,sizes and ages. Many are educated, worldly,confident and motivated to succeed as wives,mothers and businesswomen. Individuals of this caliber are out there-unfortunately, the author of this rubbish chose to ignore this fact.
Those of you who would like to gain knowledge of what a *real* junior enlisted wife is like should consider volunteering at the local USO as opposed to wasting an afternoon reading this book.

Does the author actually think that others in the same socio-economic situation fare better? Let's take a look at others the same age,non college grads, married with kids, and see if their struggles aren't the same or even worse.(Be sure to add in 500-600 a month for healthcare to the civilian budget) Except for the #2 interview, the examples offend me. How does a teenager cope with motherhood, separations and support in the best of situations? How does an older spouse without kids expect to make ends meet while abandoning her career?(I am thinking #3 could have done better than working at a washroom, what about the PX or shoppette? Or the post bank? If she liked Wendy's so much, why not there?) and spending 160 dollars a month on cigarettes?
Furthermore, there is plenty of support in place. It is unfortunate that some junior enlisted wives perpetuate bad rumors about FRG's and the officers wives that run them. They can't and won't be helped until they are willing to help themselves.
For the record, there are plenty of strong, smart,educated and self sufficient spouses out there. This is a slap in the face to those women and the women to follow in the ranks behind them!

In Invisible Women: Junior Enlisted Army Wives, Margaret Harrell reveals a surprising and candid revelation about the lives of junior enlisted Army wives based on interviews with hundreds of spouses, Army Personnel, and others in the military community. Three specific and representative women give voice to the dilemmas commonly confronting junior enlisted families. The informative text blends humor and pathos as these young women speak of the challenges of youth, lack of education, financial difficulties, distance from husbands and families, and being "invisible" within a large military bureaucracy. Invisible Women is highly recommended reading for anyone considering family life within the context of military service, women's studies groups, and military life reference collections.