Going Overboard : The Misadventures of a Military Wife [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Sarah Smiley (Author)
Key Phrases: Spouse Club, Big Jack, Devil Cat (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Smiley, who pens the nationally syndicated column "Shore Duty," is something of an Erma Bombeck for the military-wife set. She wittily and poignantly writes about being a navy spouse left on base with two young children while her husband is on deployment ("the D-word") overseas, just as the impending war in Iraq is dominating the headlines. Raised a navy brat, Smiley is no stranger to military life, but that doesn't preclude the fear, frustration and freak-outs that often accompany her predicament. Fellow military spouses will appreciate Smiley's humorous accounts of attending Spouse Club support meetings, handling household tasks ("My one saving grace was the toilet," she writes about a broken commode in her guest room. "A mental buffer military wives can depend on is the fact that household chores continue despite all else") and simply coping with the realities of having a husband thousands of miles away who might not return. Smiley's prose is simple and straightforward, and her humor is clever, often emerging in passages when she's at her lowest. Curiously, Smiley doesn't express her views about the Iraq war, and she often ignores the conflict's realities as her personal woes take over.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
A former Navy brat and present-day Navy wife, Sarah Smiley knows better than anyone that weddings and funerals--even childbirth!--take a backseat to Uncle Sam. Yet when Sarah's husband, Dustin, is sent away for an unexpected deployment, what follows is a true test of strength and wit that even Sarah's list-making mother couldn't have prepared her for. Just when Sarah thinks she has it all under control, a charming doctor creates temptation that is hard to resist. Now, with one distant spouse, two children and three best friends, Sarah learns that life sometimes means going a little overboard.

Exceptionally frank and brazenly funny, this memoir of marrying young and growing up late exposes everything you never knew you didn't know about life in the military….and then some. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• ISBN-10: 0451216679
• ASIN: B000EUKR2W
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #999,469 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read Again, & Again, March 25, 2006

By	C. J. Herrero (McDonough, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife (Hardcover)

This is one of those books that really put you in the story. I felt like I new every character in he book. I learned so much from it. This isn't a survival guide, it is a realization book. As a Navy Wife of 2 children (5 & 2), one child on the way, and a hubby that won't be back until about 7 days before my due date, this book let me know that I am not crazy.

This is a great book about learning independence. There is fine line where the individual and the couple meet. I think that this is a great book for wives who are married to a civilian husband also. Not only does it tell you about what it is like to be married to a military man but how to deal with everyday life as well. I learned how to laugh at my misfortunes while my husband is gone.

I like how the book is written in plain English. I didn't have to get out the dictionary to figure out words. She speaks straight from the heart and is completely open. It is great to see that a marriage can go through so many obsticles and make it through.

Thank you Sarah for this book. I look forward to reading it over and over and over.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brave look into life's journey, November 8, 2005

By	Darcele A. Jones "Darcele" (Papillion, NE) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife (Hardcover)

I thought this book was a courageous book to write. The subject matter has very sensitive and personal material in it, yet through humor it relinquishes a great message for not only military spouses, but to all wives/partners whose life partner's career manages their lives. Being an Officer's wife of 8 years, and a prior enlisted dependent of 21 years, the message I took to heart was that I don't always have to be so strong. It's ok to have doubts and weaknesses; and also it's acceptable to not always have a pretense of a perfect marriage. This book seem to look at one's journey and challenge to attain personal growth and how even though freindships are essential, it's the individual person who actually has to decide to grow or not. A person's journey out reaches rank, job titles, or financial background; I believe the message has helped me in my own journey of personal growth which continues daily.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good for sarah!, November 8, 2005

By	EllenofVirginia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife (Hardcover)

I totally disagree with the "navy spouse" who slammed sarah's book...i think it took a lot of guts to share with the world the worst of oneself in such an honest and revealing way...sarah started her experience as a navy wife and mother as an unknowing victim of her own circumstances and fought through her doubts and fears to emerge a stronger, more self confident young woman...i learned some things about myself from reading this...even at my age of 58...i laughed and i cried..particularly when she lost her precious dog...i can relate...i am sure that she and her husband have emerged a stronger and more devoted couple...it was a hard road and they both chose to take it...my hats off to sarah smiley