Married to the Military: A Survival Guide for Military Wives, Girlfriends, and Women in Uniform [Paperback]

Meredith Leyva (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2003

The Unofficial Scoop on Military Life

Whether you're dating, engaged, or married to an active military servicemember or reservist -- or you've just signed up yourself -- you may feel as if you've somehow married the United States military! While there are plenty of orientation books for him, there are almost no handy, user-friendly resources for you. Meredith Leyva, a military wife and founder of CinCHouse.com, the Internet's largest community for military wives, girlfriends, and women in uniform, details everything you need to know to manage day-to-day issues and get on with the adventure of military life. From relocation to deployment, protocol to finances, and career to kids, Leyva offers time-tested advice about:

• Keeping your love life together during deployments

• Relocating yourself and your family around the world

• Maintaining your own career when you're expected to move every three years

• Understanding what pay and benefits you're entitled to -- and how to maximize them

• Translating those odd acronyms and jargon

Written by a seasoned military wife, this smart and savvy guide will help you take control at every point of your servicemember's career -- from filing marriage papers as newlyweds to choosing prenatal and child care when you start a family to figuring out his pension when he's ready to retire.

Editorial Reviews

Review

With Operation Iraqi Freedom winding down, it’s easy to forget about our military troops and their families. Unfortunately, the peacekeeping effort is the most dangerous part of the battle, and even after the January elections in Iraq many service members have no idea when they will be sent home. Your support means so much to our troops and their families, and here are some things you can do to wave the flag:

• Nearly every neighborhood in America is home to a deployed service member who has left behind a spouse and kids. Help these families by offering to babysit the kids or mow the lawn. The spouse will be overjoyed, and the service member will be relieved to know that his or her community is taking care of his family while he is gone.
• If you don’t know any military families, donate to a charity like Operation Homefront that provides emergency services to these families. You’ll help offset the "Murphy’s Law" of the military, which is the minute a service member deploys away from his family the roof will leak, the car will break down and the plumbing will burst. Knowing their families are cared for, service members can then focus on the dangerous task at hand.
• Send a greeting to a service member through Operation Dear Abby (http://www.OperationDearAbby.net) or Defend America’s virtual thank you card (http://www.defendamerica.mil). You’d be surprised at how many service members in Iraq actually read your comments and find themselves inspired.
• Donate blood to the American Red Cross. Military hospitals are filled with wounded, and you never know what hero needs your blood to continue the fight.

Most importantly, don’t forget to thank our troops and families in person. If you see a young mom with a military sticker on her car, take a moment to thank her for doing her part. Nothing brightens up the day of a struggling military wife like your heartfelt appreciation. -- Don’t Forget Our Troops and Their Families!--An Essay by Meredith Leyva

About the Author

Meredith Leyva is the founder and editor of CinCHouse.com, the Internet’s largest community for military wives and women in uniform. Leyva currently resides with her family in Norfolk, Virginia, where her husband is stationed aboard the USS Enterprise.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; Original edition (June 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743255542
• ISBN-13: 978-0743255547
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #675,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Well...I guess it might make good fire starter?, August 10, 2005

By 

Annabelle Campbell (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Married to the Military: A Survival Guide for Military Wives, Girlfriends, and Women in Uniform (Paperback)

I bought this book because I thought the cover was cute--but that should have been my first notice that the insides would be worthless.

Every other page is filled with "check out my website for more help!" So I did, since the contents of the book certainly didn't contain any of the info I was searching for. What I found was far from helpful. The website is filled with cute designs, sappy stories, and that's about it. Upon venturing into the forums, however, I was appalled.

Phrases like "Filthy raghead" and "queer homos" littered the message boards. While the author of the book and her team of moderators are frequent visitors, they did nothing to remove these posts, therefor leading me to believe that they condone these thoughts. The drama is worse than high school.

PLEASE do not buy this book. The information contained in it is trivial--as a Navy girlfriend of less than 2 years, I knew everything in the book, due to common sense or a simple google search. It encourages young girls to revoke their life in order to support their husbands, which is not only wrong, but pathetic.

There are plenty of good books out there. This is not one of them.

42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bored to Tears, December 10, 2003

By 

itsmemissab (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Married to the Military: A Survival Guide for Military Wives, Girlfriends, and Women in Uniform (Paperback)

Having been an Army wife for 2 years and a fiancee for 2 years before that, I am always looking to learn more about how to cope with the difficulties of military life. My mother picked up this book for me because the cute cover caught her eye. Unfortunately, the cover is the only good thing about this book.

The author's tone is condescending throughout the book, and she talks down to readers, which is a real turn-off. Ms. Leyva obviously has no idea of the day to day struggles of average enlisted wives. Some of the information provided is false. [...] The book gives some cutesy information about how to act and how wonderful it is to support your man *rolls eyes*

Save your money, ladies! There are better books out there that will prepare you for the real military life...not the rosy picture painted in books.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not worth it, August 10, 2005

By 

Navy Spouse (FT Meade MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Married to the Military: A Survival Guide for Military Wives, Girlfriends, and Women in Uniform (Paperback)

Basically, a shameless plug for the website, which isn't any different than the many others out there doing the same thing. The Chat Forums are full of ignorant and uneducated children who give out bad information left and right, which they probably got from the book. The book itself is not much, most of the information can be found on the web or at your local Family Support Center.