Once a Brat [Paperback]

Marilyn Celeste Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2002

As one of the first dependents to be sent overseas at the end of WWII, eight-year old Marilyn Celeste Morris received her very own orders from The War Department. From Seoul, Korea to Linz, Austria, she traversed the globe from 1938 to 1958 with her Army Officer father, mother, and younger brothers. Between assignments in the primitive world of the Far East, to the sublime luxury of exploring castles in Bavaria, the family shuttled between the various Stateside Forts: Bragg, Bliss, Hood and Sill. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes gut-wrenchingly sad, her narrative is part travelogue, part therapy session. She still cries at “Taps” and stands tall when the colors pass; yet she realizes she carries an odd mixture of pride and resentment over her nomadic way of life. Her conclusion, however, is that she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Once a Brat... Always a Brat.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I have always had difficulty answering the question, "Where are you from?" I have had difficulty in sustaining relationships over a long period of time. I am capable of spending a great many hours, days, even, in splendid solitude --- all can be blamed on-- or credited to --my military brat background. And it's not all bad.

About the Author

Born a "Military Brat," Marilyn Celeste Morris spent the first 20 years of her life studying in Dependents’ Schools in Seoul Korea, 1946-47 and Linz, Austria (1948-1950), resulting in the memoir of life with her army officer father from 1938-1958, Once a Brat, being published by PublishAmerica in 2002.

For ten years prior to her book publications, she wrote a weekly humor/human interest column for Suburban Newspapers in the Fort Worth TX area.

Her first novel, Sabbath’s Room, was published 2001 by PublishAmerica. She has taught creative writing, is a member of the National Association of Women Writers and when not writing, she enjoys searching for former classmates throughout the world. In true Military Brat tradition, she has a suitcase packed under the bed, ready to travel on a moment’s notice

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (July 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591292522
• ISBN-13: 978-1591292524
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,707,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Although she was raised as a Military Brat, Marilyn Celeste Morris was born in her grandfather's house in Toronto, Texas, a small Southern Pacific Railroad Section six miles west of Alpine. Perhaps as an omen of what would be the next twenty years of her life, the railroad's abandonment of this settlement shortly afterward left her with no "permanent" home.

Schooling consisted of Dependents' Schools while overseas, in Seoul Korea, 1946-47 and Linz, Austria (1949-1952) and various schools stateside. A rarity for a Military Brat, she was fortunate enough to have attended all three high school years and graduated at Lawton Senior High School, Lawton OK. Further education was attained at Cameron State College, Lawton OK, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth TX, and North Texas State University. She received an AAS Degree in Mental Health in 1995.

Morris began her writing career as a guest columnist in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and for ten years wrote a weekly humor/human interest column for a weekly newspaper in the Fort Worth TX area. She recently compiled a selection in My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale -And Other Stories from a Single Woman of a Certain Age.
Her first novel, Sabbath's Room, a supernatural murder mystery, was closely followed by Once a Brat, part travelogue, part therapy session, relating her world-wide travels with her army officer father during the Post WWII years. She then wrote Diagnosis: Lupus: The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient, a collection of personal journal entries about her struggles with SLE. An outgrowth of her Once a Brat book is the novel, The Women of Camp Sobingo, where four women meet aboard a ship bound for a remote military compound outside Seoul, Korea, immediately following the end of WWII. They form a bond that will sustain them through numerous hardships, and at a reunion twenty-five years later, secrets and sorrows are at last revealed. Her third novel, Forces of Nature, followed.

She has taught creative writing at Tarrant County College, Fort Worth TX, survived numerous book signings and speaking engagements; and is experienced in interviewing on both radio and television.

When not writing or editing emerging writers' manuscripts, Morris enjoys searching for former classmates and true to her Brat heritage, she has a suitcase packed under the bed, ready to travel at a moment's notice.

Marilyn Celeste Morris may be reached by email: [e-mail] to schedule a speaking engagement or arrange for editing services. See also http://www.freewebs.com/graceworksproductions/ for excerpts of all her books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From One Brat to Another, December 3, 2002

By 

Mr. Eugene P. Moser Jr (Hampton, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once a Brat (Paperback)

Marilyn's brat book should find its own nitche in the small world of brat related literature. It is non-fiction, but it deals only with Marilyn and her family. Ms. Morris takes us back to the early days of post-World War II and to places were we and Communisim faced each other - Korea and Austria. Her book is well written and well remembered. My only fault is that she appears to repeat herself a couple of times. i still found it a pleasant and informative read and I was happy to compare my experiences with hers.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You've told my story, December 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Once a Brat (Paperback)

I had tears and nodding smiles as I read this book. It even helped me understand a bit of myself. I always wondered what it was about me that I could walkk away from relationships and not turn back. It makes me see why my marriage has failed so, being married to a drafted vet doesn't make it when you are a Brat. This is a road I am dreading in my life as a life-long Brat. But, it encouraged me as well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind-blowing!, March 6, 2007

By 

Dorothy Thompson (The Eastern Shore, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once a Brat (Paperback)

I just finished Marilyn Celeste Morris' book, "Once a Brat," and I can't even begin to tell you how empowering that book was to me. As a military brat myself, I devoured the book, but what made it interesting was that if you stop and think about it, Marilyn is one of the last of the military children born to these WWII vets that are dying at 1000 a day. Marilyn's book is a legacy to military brats everywhere, but more than that, it's a legacy to mankind as this was history that we will never recapture again, except in words or in pictures. Marilyn's words paint that picture of what it was like being eight-years-old and having to travel to war-torn countries after given orders from the War Department to join her father and the rest of her family at the end of WWII. I found her story riveting and a fine example of recapturing history from a personal point of view. It's a powerful story that history books would never be able to touch. A must-read not only for military brats everywhere who can relate to Marilyn's story, but an excellent addition to anyone's library shelf!
--Dorothy Thompson, editor, The Writer's Life Ezine
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