Surviving Deployment: A Guide for Military Families (Paperback)

~ Karen M. Pavlicin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

It's a guide to the nuts, bolts, and sheer difficulties of the process. Pavlicin writes from experience. -- Star Tribune (May 16, 2003)

Pavlicin is experienced in offering practical solutions to spouses, parents and children as they face their stressed lives during deployment. -- Montana Parent (Feb 2005)

Written in straight forward easy-to-read style. A book that should be in every military family household. -- Carthage Republican Tribune (May 15, 2003)

Product Description

As part of today's active duty or reserve forces, your loved one may be called to war, peacekeeping missions, anti-terrorism campaigns, field exercises, disaster relief, and many other duties far from home--and you.

Surviving Deployment is your personal guide to turning an otherwise lonely and challenging situation into a positive experience.

Learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to personally grow as individuals and families. Your survival gear will range from a sturdy toilet plunger to the fine art of letter writing. You'll manage financial changes, help children express their feelings, and discover a renewed appreciation for everyday life.

Solid information. Practical checklists. Personal stories from hundreds of families.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Elva Resa Publishing; 1 edition (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965748367
• ISBN-13: 978-0965748360
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of helpful little tidbits, October 15, 2005

By	R. Peters "LoveMySemperFiGuy" (Oceanside, CA) - See all my reviews

My husband is a Marine. He just got back from a long deployment. Before that, his deployments and trainings were shorter but it seemed like he was gone all the time. I'm not sure which was worse - saying goodbye all the time or just having him gone the whole time!

One thing I liked about this book was the section on how to win cooperation from your kids and how to avoid child abuse. None of us thinks about this much because of course we would never want to hurt our kids. But deployments put a lot of pressure on a lot of single parents who are also under tremendous stress. After reading this book, we talked about the ideas and brainstormed more at our key volunteer meeting. My favorite is when the heat gets high in our house, we put on good music and dance! Another is when anyone (kids too!) feels like hitting, we hug something instead. Some stuffed animals got the stuffing hugged hard right out of them!

Another idea I got from this book was to keep a journal of how I spend my time and when I or my kids get upset. It really helped me realize some of the routines we could adjust to make it easier for everyone. The book is full of little tidbits like this.

I also liked that it walks you through different stages of feelings. It was nice to know that feeling guilty for being happy that he's gone is normal! I hate goodbyes and I'm always glad that part is over even though I hate for him to be gone.

This is a big book that covers a lot of ground. One thing I wish it had more on is faith. It's obvious the author has a lot of faith - I would have loved some more ideas on how to keep the faith deployment after deployment. I think the worry just increases (are we pushing our luck with another one?).

Some of the things here are common sense. But who has common sense when your partner is in a combat zone for a year? ;-) It's worth the money even if you only get a few reminders of what you know from previous deployments (at least it's all in one place organized for you!). Overall, I'm glad I read the book and I will still use a lot of the ideas when the deployments are over.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for all branches of service, October 12, 2005

By	Regina B "Buckeroo" - See all my reviews

I read the Amazon review about this book not being as helpful because the author's view is as a Marine wife in six or seven-month deployments vs year-long Army deployments. I disagree with that reviewer. I think the author did a great job of interviewing families in all branches and including information that goes beyond one perspective. All deployments are hard and I found this book to be so helpful! My husband deployed with the Army National Guard. We are not at a base with lots of military families - we are in a regular civilian neighborhood. I found it very helpful to have this book to turn to, especially since I don't have a lot of local military resources. I got ideas for communication and helping our kids. A lot of the information is good for anyone to know - no matter what branch of service or even if you are not in the military! I also found it a helpful reminder to get certain papers in order, such as wills and powers of attorney - nice to have the checklists.

I heard the author speak to a group of Army Reserve and National Guard families. She has a great perspective and was very inspiring. She grew up near an Army base, was married to a Marine (who died recently) and volunteers her time to help families in all branches.

This book was published just before the war in Iraq. The author could not have known that so many people would be deployed for such a long time. National Guard used to have a six-month limit on deployments until 9/11 and now they can be deployed for up to 18-24 months. It is tiring to go so long in these deployments and no book is going to have all the answers, but I've found this one to be the best of any about deployment (I think I've read them all now!).

Just a note to all of you who like to help other military families - this is one of the authors who is very accessible. I really liked talking with her and felt that she really cares. She shared ideas that have come up in her workshops since this book was published. To help families with reuniting after long (a year or more) deployments, she is writing a book on reunions. A friend of mine was interviewed for it - more info is on the survivingdeployment.com site. The author said she wants all branches again and all types of reunions - so tell your story to help others going through this hard time!!

I'm very thankful for all the people who took the time to write about their experiences and things they've learned. In addition to this book, I also recommend for kids Michelle Ferguson-Cohen's "Daddy, You're My Hero" and "When Dad's at Sea" by Mindy Pelton (even though it's Navy-focused, I thought it was really touching and my kids loved it). My daughter also liked writing in the "Deployment Journal for Kids" by Rachel Robertson.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! - Like Talking to a Great Friend, May 12, 2003

By	Janice Potter (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

A friend gave me this book because my husband is deployed and she thought it had great advice and checklists in it. While it does have all that great info in it, what I love best is all the personal stories. The author does a great job of weaving in how other people have handled certain situations. Whenever I looked up something in the book, I found myself sitting down and reading it for a while because it was so interesting - like talking to a good friend who understands just how I feel. It's so interesting to read other people's experience during deployments, how they found out about it, how they handled their kids' emotions, etc. I laughed and cried because it is like reading about myself! I got so many ideas. Awesome.