Download or read book Love My Rifle More than You Young and Female in the U S Army written by Kayla Williams and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2006-09-17 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Brave, honest, and necessary.”—Nancy Pearl, NPR Seattle Kayla Williams is one of the 15 percent of the U.S. Army that is female, and she is a great storyteller. With a voice that is “funny, frank and full of gritty details” (New York Daily News), she tells of enlisting under Clinton; of learning Arabic; of the sense of duty that fractured her relationships; of being surrounded by bravery and bigotry, sexism and fear; of seeing 9/11 on Al-Jazeera; and of knowing she would be going to war. With a passion that makes her memoir “nearly impossible to put down” (Buffalo News) Williams shares the powerful gamut of her experiences in Iraq, from caring for a wounded civilian to aiming a rifle at a child. Angry at the bureaucracy and the conflicting messages of today’s military, Williams offers us “a raw, unadulterated look at war” (San Antonio Express News) and at the U.S. Army. And she gives us a woman’s story of empowerment and self-discovery.
Download or read book Love My Rifle More Than You Young and Female in the U S Army written by Kayla Williams and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2006-08-29 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An account of the experiences of women soldiers relates the author's decision to enlist, her relationship with a Palestinian boyfriend, her witness to the events of September 11 as portrayed on Arabic television, and her deployment to Iraq.
Download or read book Plenty of Time When We Get Home written by Kayla Williams and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Intimate and brave . . . a testament to how love soldiers on.”—People Brian, on his way back to base after mid-tour leave, was wounded by a roadside bomb that sent shrapnel through his brain. Kayla waited anxiously for news and, on returning home, sought out Brian. The two began a tentative romance and later married, but neither anticipated the consequences of Brian’s injury on their lives. Lacking essential support for returning veterans from the military and the VA, Kayla and Brian suffered through posttraumatic stress amplified by his violent mood swings, her struggles to reintegrate into a country still oblivious to women veterans, and what seemed the callous, consumerist indifference of civilian society at large. Kayla persevered. So did Brian. They fought for their marriage, drawing on remarkable reservoirs of courage and commitment. They confronted their demons head-on, impatient with phoniness of any sort. Inspired by an unwavering ethos of service, they continued to stand on common ground. Finally, they found their own paths to healing and wholeness, both as individuals and as a family, in dedication to a larger community.
Download or read book It s My Country Too written by Jerri Bell and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2017-07-01 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This inspiring anthology it the first to convey the noteworthy experiences and contributions of women in the American military in their own words-from the Revolutionary War to the present wars in the Middle East. Serving with the Union Army during the Civil War as a nurse, scout, spy, and soldier, Harriet Tubman tells what it was like to be the first American woman to lead a raid against an enemy, freeing some 750 slaves. Busting gender stereotypes, Inga Fredriksen Ferris's describes how it felt to be a woman marine during World War II. Heidi Squier Kraft recounts her experiences as a lieutenant commander in the navy, deployed to Iraq as a psychologist to provide mental health care in a combat zone. In excerpts from their diaries, letters, oral histories, military depositions and testimonies, as well as from published and unpublished memoirs-generations of women reveal why and how they chose to serve their country, often breaking with social norms and at great personal peril.
Download or read book Fly Like a Girl written by Mary Jennings Hegar and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Young Readers Edition of a compelling story of courage and triumph, this is the inspiring true story of Major Mary Jennings Hegar--a brave and determined woman who gave her all for her country, her sense of justice, and for women everywhere. On July 29, 2009, Air National Guard Major Mary Jennings Hegar was shot down while on a Medevac mission in Afghanistan. Despite being wounded, her courageous actions saved the lives of her crew and their patients, earning her the Purple Heart as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device. That day also marked the beginning of a new mission: convincing the U.S. Government to allow women to serve openly on the front line of battle for the first time in American history. With exclusive photographs throughout, Fly Like a Girl tells the inspiring true story of Mary Jennings Hegar--a brave and determined woman who gave her all for her country, her sense of justice, and for women everywhere. Includes exclusive photographs throughout, a discussion guide, and a Q&A with the author written specifically for teen readers. Praise for Fly Like a Girl: "An honest portrayal of one woman's battles in and out of combat zones."--Kirkus Reviews
Download or read book Female Chauvinist Pigs written by Ariel Levy and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-10-03 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this passionate report from the front lines, a "New York" magazine writer examines the enormous cultural impact of the newest wave of post-feminism.
Download or read book Beyond the Call written by Eileen Rivers and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2018-11-06 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting account of three women who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with men and worked with local women to restore their lives and push back the Taliban They marched under the heat with 40-pound rucksacks on their backs. They fired weapons out of the windows of military vehicles, defending their units in deadly battles. And they did things that their male counterparts could never do--gather intelligence on the Taliban from the women of Afghanistan. As females they could circumvent Muslim traditions and cultivate relationships with Afghan women who were bound by tradition not to speak with American military men. And their work in local villages helped empower Afghan women, providing them with the education and financial tools necessary to rebuild their nation--and the courage to push back against the insurgency that wanted to destroy it. For the women warriors of the military's Female Engagement Teams (FET) it was dangerous, courageous, and sometimes heartbreaking work. Beyond the Call follows the groundbreaking journeys of three women as they first fight military brass and culture and then enemy fire and tradition. And like the men with whom they served, their battles were not over when they returned home.
Download or read book The Lonely Soldier written by Helen Benedict and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lonely Soldier--the inspiration for the documentary The Invisible War--vividly tells the stories of five women who fought in Iraq between 2003 and 2006--and of the challenges they faced while fighting a war painfully alone. More American women have fought and died in Iraq than in any war since World War Two, yet as soldiers they are still painfully alone. In Iraq, only one in ten troops is a woman, and she often serves in a unit with few other women or none at all. This isolation, along with the military's deep-seated hostility toward women, causes problems that many female soldiers find as hard to cope with as war itself: degradation, sexual persecution by their comrades, and loneliness, instead of the camaraderie that every soldier depends on for comfort and survival. As one female soldier said, "I ended up waging my own war against an enemy dressed in the same uniform as mine." In The Lonely Soldier, Benedict tells the stories of five women who fought in Iraq between 2003 and 2006. She follows them from their childhoods to their enlistments, then takes them through their training, to war and home again, all the while setting the war's events in context. We meet Jen, white and from a working-class town in the heartland, who still shakes from her wartime traumas; Abbie, who rebelled against a household of liberal Democrats by enlisting in the National Guard; Mickiela, a Mexican American who grew up with a family entangled in L.A. gangs; Terris, an African American mother from D.C. whose childhood was torn by violence; and Eli PaintedCrow, who joined the military to follow Native American tradition and to escape a life of Faulknerian hardship. Between these stories, Benedict weaves those of the forty other Iraq War veterans she interviewed, illuminating the complex issues of war and misogyny, class, race, homophobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Each of these stories is unique, yet collectively they add up to a heartbreaking picture of the sacrifices women soldiers are making for this country. Benedict ends by showing how these women came to face the truth of war and by offering suggestions for how the military can improve conditions for female soldiers-including distributing women more evenly throughout units and rejecting male recruits with records of violence against women. Humanizing, urgent, and powerful, The Lonely Soldier is a clarion call for change.
Download or read book 1001 Things to Love About Military Life written by Tara Crooks and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2011-11-02 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A first-of-its-kind celebration of military life, 1001 Things to Love About Military Life chronicles some obvious and not-so-obvious traditions, advantages and experiences military members, veterans and their families share. Full of heart-warming vignettes, laugh-out-loud lists, stories and quotes from military members and family members, and photos that speak a thousand positive affirmations, this inspirational look at those who dedicate their lives to serving perfectly illustrates why it is a profession and lifestyle to love. You'll find practical truths most service members wouldn't want to live without and learn the unique outlooks, services and advantages military life provides. Military or civilian, you'll experience the community and personal growth that the military offers. Whether you have a friend or loved one in the military, you're a service member ready to head out on duty, a spouse gearing up to take charge of the household, a veteran in need of a few good laughs, or a new recruit looking for encouragement, this book provides inspiration and insight into the lives of today's dedicated and courageous military families.
Download or read book The Most Unlikely Champion written by Vera Koo and published by Balboa Press. This book was released on 2017-10-18 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vera Koo enrolled in a firearm safety course because she was afraid of guns. Goals are important to Vera, so she set hers high, completing the beginner's course, and eventually becoming the best shooter in her advanced class. Her instructor suggested she reach for an even higher goal with competitive shooting. And she did. With unflinching focus and determination, Vera became one of the most accomplished shooters ever. At age 70, she’s an eight-time women’s division winner of the prestigious Bianchi Cup Action Pistol Championship. She’s the first woman to place in the Top 20 in the Bianchi Cup competition. Vera’s story is more than that of a petite Asian woman becoming a top competitor in the male-dominated sport shooting world. It’s the story of a Chinese immigrant, raised in a traditional Chinese culture, where women deferred to their husbands and kept to their socio-economic class, succeeded in America. Vera is a successful businesswoman, accomplished athlete, and a loving wife and mother. It was never an ‘either or’ for Vera, it’s about meeting life’s challenges head-on with dogged persistence, grace, humility—and humor. With faith in herself and God, Vera has survived unexpected tragedies, tremendous hurt, and betrayal. And yet, her story is about hope, love, compassion, and forgiveness. Through all the twists and turns in her life, Vera shows us how the same grit that made her a world class athlete, helped her find joy. “Search for something you’re good at,” Vera says, "and it will take you far.” - Vera
Download or read book Fight Like a Girl written by Kate Germano and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2018 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Marine Corps combat veteran with twenty years of service describes her professional battle against gender bias in the Marines and the lessons it holds for other arenas. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Kate Germano arrived at Parris Island convinced that if she expected more of the female recruits just coming into Corps, she could raise historically low standards for female performance and make women better Marines. One year after she took command of the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion, shooting qualifications of the women under her command equaled those of men, injuries had decreased, and unit morale had noticeably improved. Then the Marines fired her. This is the story of Germano's struggle to achieve equality of performance and opportunity for female Marines against an entrenched male-dominated status quo. Germano charges that the men above her in the chain of command were too invested in perpetuating the subordinate role of women in the Corps to allow her to prove that the female Marine can be equal to her male counterpart. She notes that the Marine Corps continues to be the only service where men and women train separately in boot camp or basic training. Meanwhile, in the U.S. Army, women have already become Army Rangers and applied to be infantry officers. Germano addresses the Marine Corps' $35-million gender-integration study, which shows that all-male squads perform at a higher level than mixed male-female squads. This study flies in the face of the results she demonstrated with the all-female Fourth Battalion and raises questions about the Marine Corps' willingness to let women succeed. At a time when women are fighting sexism in many sectors of society, Germano's story has wide-ranging implications and lessons not just for the military but for corporate America, the labor force, education, and government.
Download or read book Undaunted written by Tanya Biank and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As she did so provocatively with military spouses in Army Wives, Tanya Biank gives us the inside story of women in today’s military—their professional and personal challenges from the combat zone to the home front... Since 9/11, more than 240,000 women have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan—more than 140 have died there, and they currently make up fourteen percent of the total active-duty forces. Despite advances, today’s servicewomen are constantly pressed to prove themselves, to overcome challenges men never face, and to put the military mission ahead of all other aspects of their lives, particularly marriage and motherhood. In this groundbreaking, insider’s look at the women defending our nation, Tanya Biank brings to light the real issues—of femininity, belonging to an old boys’ club, veiled discrimination, dating, marriage problems, separation from children, questions about life goals, career trajectories, and self-worth—that servicewomen are facing by focusing on four individual stories. Brigadier General Angela Salinas, the Marine Corps’ first Hispanic female general, faces the challenge of commanding an all-male institution. Second Lieutenant Bergan Flanagan finds herself on the frontlines in Afghanistan, serving in the same military police company as her husband. As a marine drill instructor, Sergeant Amy Stokley demands the very best from the recruits at Parris Island. And Major Candice O’Brien deals with deployment to Afghanistan, with two young children and a strained marriage back home. Undaunted is the story of these courageous trailblazers—their struggles, sacrifices, and triumphs in the name of serving the country they love.
Download or read book Soldier Girls written by Helen Thorpe and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-08-05 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A raw, intimate look at the impact of combat and the healing power of friendship” (People): the lives of three women deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the effect of their military service on their personal lives and families—named a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly. “In the tradition of Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Richard Rhodes, and other masters of literary journalism, Soldier Girls is utterly absorbing, gorgeously written, and unforgettable” (The Boston Globe). Helen Thorpe follows the lives of three women over twelve years on their paths to the military, overseas to combat, and back home…and then overseas again for two of them. These women, who are quite different in every way, become friends, and we watch their interaction and also what happens when they are separated. We see their families, their lovers, their spouses, their children. We see them work extremely hard, deal with the attentions of men on base and in war zones, and struggle to stay connected to their families back home. We see some of them drink too much, have affairs, and react to the deaths of fellow soldiers. And we see what happens to one of them when the truck she is driving hits an explosive in the road, blowing it up. She survives, but her life may never be the same again. Deeply reported, beautifully written, and powerfully moving, Soldier Girls is “a breakthrough work...What Thorpe accomplishes in Soldier Girls is something far greater than describing the experience of women in the military. The book is a solid chunk of American history...Thorpe triumphs” (The New York Times Book Review).
Download or read book My Absolute Darling written by Gabriel Tallent and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-08-29 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST NBCC JOHN LEONARD PRIZE FINALIST ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S MOST NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2017 ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST’S MOST NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2017 ONE OF NPR’S ‘GREAT READS’ OF 2017 A USA TODAY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AN AMAZON.COM BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A BUSINESS INSIDER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR "Impossible to put down." —NPR "A novel that readers will gulp down, gasping.” —The Washington Post "The word 'masterpiece' has been cheapened by too many blurbs, but My Absolute Darling absolutely is one." —Stephen King A brilliant and immersive, all-consuming read about one fourteen-year-old girl's heart-stopping fight for her own soul. Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At fourteen, she roams the woods along the northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous: Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother, in the thrall of her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Her social existence is confined to the middle school (where she fends off the interest of anyone, student or teacher, who might penetrate her shell) and to her life with her father. Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes, lives in a big clean house, and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. Motivated by her first experience with real friendship and a teenage crush, Turtle starts to imagine escape, using the very survival skills her father devoted himself to teaching her. What follows is a harrowing story of bravery and redemption. With Turtle's escalating acts of physical and emotional courage, the reader watches, heart in throat, as this teenage girl struggles to become her own hero—and in the process, becomes ours as well. Shot through with striking language in a fierce natural setting, My Absolute Darling is an urgently told, profoundly moving read that marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.
Download or read book Front Lines written by Michael Grant and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-01-26 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic, genre-bending, and transformative new series that reimagines World War II with female soldiers fighting on the front lines. World War II, 1942. A court decision makes women subject to the draft and eligible for service. The unproven American army is going up against the greatest fighting force ever assembled, the armed forces of Nazi Germany. Three girls sign up to fight. Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman are average girls, girls with dreams and aspirations, at the start of their lives, at the start of their loves. Each has her own reasons for volunteering: Rio fights to honor her sister; Frangie needs money for her family; Rainy wants to kill Germans. For the first time they leave behind their homes and families—to go to war. These three daring young women will play their parts in the war to defeat evil and save the human race. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, they will discover the roles that define them on the front lines. They will fight the greatest war the world has ever known. Perfect for fans of Girl in the Blue Coat, Salt to the Sea, The Book Thief, and Code Name Verity, from New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant.
Download or read book Uncultured written by Daniella Mestyanek Young and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A painful and propulsive memoir delivered in the honest tones of a woman who didn’t always think she’d live to tell her story." —The New York Times A Buzzfeed Best Book of September In the vein of Educated and The Glass Castle, Daniella Mestyanek Young's Uncultured is more than a memoir about an exceptional upbringing, but about a woman who, no matter the lack of tools given to her, is determined to overcome. Behind the tall, foreboding gates of a commune in Brazil, Daniella Mestyanek Young was raised in the religious cult The Children of God, also known as The Family, as the daughter of high-ranking members. Her great-grandmother donated land for one of The Family’s first communes in Texas. Her mother, at thirteen, was forced to marry the leader and served as his secretary for many years. Beholden to The Family’s strict rules, Daniella suffers physical, emotional, and sexual abuse—masked as godly discipline and divine love—and is forbidden from getting a traditional education. At fifteen years old, fed up with The Family and determined to build a better and freer life for herself, Daniella escapes to Texas. There, she bravely enrolls herself in high school and excels, later graduating as valedictorian of her college class, then electing to join the military to begin a career as an intelligence officer, where she believes she will finally belong. But she soon learns that her new world—surrounded by men on the sands of Afghanistan—looks remarkably similar to the one she desperately tried to leave behind. Told in a beautiful, propulsive voice and with clear-eyed honesty, Uncultured explores the dangers unleashed when harmful group mentality goes unrecognized, and is emblematic of the many ways women have to contort themselves to survive.
Download or read book I m Still Standing written by Matty Cole and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In life, trials and tribulations are designed to destroy us. But with God, my challenges with abuse, drug addiction, hardship, betrayal, and loneliness could not break me. As I recount my life’s journey, His presence has been with me through it all. According to Romans 8:28 (AMP), “And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good.” Hope and trust in God always, and you, too, will find yourself still standing.
