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This was an honest and illuminating memoir about being a military wife at a young age- and so much more. Karie had a challenging childhood to begin with, moving lots of times and having to make new friends. Her parents weren't practical with money and were more dialed into each other's needs. She met Cleve when they were both teenagers where they dated a little bit. They reconnected in their early twenties, making an impulsive decision to marry on the eve of him deploying to Iraq as a Marine post 9/11. Like many of his brethren, within months he was injured and confined to a military hospital.

Karie describes her husband's fate post war injury, navigating pain medication dependence/addiction, PTSD, financial and medical support, and so much more involving the "military machine". I marvel at Karie's strength and determination at such a young age, employing every avenue to make sure the military provided benefits to make them whole in the wake of Cleve's life-altering injuries. She often had to reach out to outside charities/entities for financial support of various kinds, advised by the military that aid would be given more swiftly via those methods. This woman had a difficult childhood that led into an even more challenging adulthood, but through Karie's inner strength came out the other side. I applaud her forthrightness in penning this moving memoir, and wish her all the best in life.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group / The Dial Press for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley."

"On and on and on etc "