Letters Home: From 9/11 to Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Military Mom Shares Her Family's Story of Patriotism, Courage and Love [Paperback]

Mary Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

Letters Home is a memoir of one family's war experience as told by Mary Ward, the mother of an infantryman, and through the letters their soldier wrote home from basic training to his last letter from Fallujah. The Ward family pulls the veil back and allows the reader access to their hearts and minds while their son, Sean, was in one of the most dangerous areas in the world. Sean's letters are an evolution from youthful enthusiasm to the depths of war.

Sean enlisted in the Army as a consequence of 9/11 and never looked back. He is specifically infantry because his sole, motivating reason to pick up arms for his country was to fight for the freedoms we as a country have come to cherish. Sean serves with the 3rd Infantry Division (mechanized), was a dismounted machine gunner during the war and will return to Iraq as a mounted gunner on a Bradley.

While Sean was in basic training and then in the war the Ward family incurred a major move, new job and a new dimension to an old illness that challenged them greatly. Each and every single day their overwhelming thoughts were of their sons well-being. Mary Ward describes how it feels to live with this sense of danger 24/7 and the constant stream of thoughts that entered her thoughts.

Five percent of the sale of each book is donated to the Wounded Warriors Project.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Ward holds a graduate degree in health services management and policy from the New School for Social Research and a master in public administration from Marist College. She is the program director for the Duke Center for Macular Degeneration. Mary's expertise is in developing programs for the elderly. She serves on the Elderly Health Services advisory board and is an executive member of the American Society for Public Administration section on health and human services.

Letters Home is her first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: MareHaven Productions, Inc. (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976017202
• ISBN-13: 978-0976017202
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,140,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, January 28, 2005

By 

B. Larimer (Easton, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Letters Home: From 9/11 to Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Military Mom Shares Her Family's Story of Patriotism, Courage and Love (Paperback)

In the Fall of 2004, when I realized my son would be deploying to Iraq for the 2nd time, I began searching the internet once again for ANYTHING relating to the 3rd ID. My search led me to Mary Ward of Marehaven Productions. A review of her book, "Letters Home" by Ron Martz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution caught my eye because he had been embedded with my son's Company on the Thunder Run to Baghdad. I ordered "Letters Home" that day. From the moment I opened the book, I couldn't put it down. It transported me back in time. Her words were my words. Her son became my son. I cried and I felt the joy of a son returning home from war, and the guilt because I knew others had not. In the week before my son left, I felt compelled to read her book again. In 3 short months, I have read it twice. For any parent who has sent their child off to war and is familiar with the emotional roller coaster ride, this is a must read. And for those who have never sent a child off to war, this book offers insight as to how very difficult it is.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a "must read"., December 6, 2004

By 

Mikki Oneal (NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Letters Home: From 9/11 to Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Military Mom Shares Her Family's Story of Patriotism, Courage and Love (Paperback)

Mary Ward captured my interest with the first sentence and kept it through the entire book. I truly felt her every emotion. It gave me so much appreciation for each and every soldier that is serving our country.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read, February 3, 2005

By 

Janet M. Fandel (Washington, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Letters Home: From 9/11 to Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Military Mom Shares Her Family's Story of Patriotism, Courage and Love (Paperback)

I was fortunate enough to hear about the book Letters Home by Mary Ward from a friend who had just finished reading it twice. I knew that it was a book that I needed to read. Everything that I was told about the book was true.

This book took me back to my own memories of the first time my son was deployed to Iraq. Facing my son's second deployment, I once again picked up Letters Home and read it again and again.

I hope that everyone in America has the opportunity to read this book to understand what it is like to have a loved one in the military.

Once you buy this book you will not be able to put it down!

I anxiously wait for more books by this very talented author.