When I was a kid, a familiar black and yellow flower-power poster hung above my mother’s dresser. It said: “War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things.â€
Despite this simple message, we’re still fighting. U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the globe. By September, total war-related federal spending since 2001 will come to an astounding $915.1 billion.
But what happens after war? More to the point, what happens when women put down their guns and come home? Shawna Kenney reviews the gripping new book, The Girls Come Marching Home — a chronicle of women’s lives after war, penned by author Kirsten Holmstedt.
The Girls Come Marching Home
The very idea of women serving in military combat is controversial. Critics fear a “feminized†and “civilianized†U.S. military. But while pundits debate, the reality is that female American soldiers serve in infantry and support positions in Afghanistan and Iraq every day. Author Kirsten Holmstedt captured some of these women’s voices from the battlefield in her first book, Band of Sisters. Holmstedt returns this year with round two: The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq (Stackpole Books).
The 18 soldiers profiled represent all branches of the armed forces, themselves a multicultural sampling of courage and humanity. Without being overly “rah-rah†or “hooah†for war, Holmstedt details the triumphs and struggles of military women returning from combat as they reclaim roles as mothers, daughters, sisters, service members and civilians while struggling with physical wounds, post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor’s guilt, and sexual assault.
All opinions about today’s wars aside, The Girls Come Marching Home is a must-read for anyone concerned about women or war. Gunfire, IEDs, child soldiers, racism, sexism and death are shown as part of wartime routine, with people in the armed forces making split-second decisions no human should ever have to make or imagine.
The most disturbing stories here depict an inept Veteran’s Administration, failing our military (men and women) left and right. Most touching was the author’s postscript, where she reveals the secondary trauma she experienced while researching the book. Flying in the face of military training, Holmstedt urges vets to believe that “it takes courage to be vulnerable†and that “counseling isn’t for the weak.†Holmstedt encourages all who need help to seek it.
The Girls Come Marching Home boldly continues the women-in-combat conversation. Here’s hoping that Holmstedt’s personal sacrifice for such a detailed account of women’s post-war stories will serve many for years to come.
Shawna Kenney is the author of Imposters (Mark Batty Publisher) and the award-winning memoir I Was a Teenage Dominatrix (Last Gasp). Her work has appeared in the Florida Review, Juxtapoz, Swindle Magazine, Veg News and Transworld Skateboarding, among others. She teaches online creative writing workshops for UCLA Extension and lifesabitchbooks.com and serves as Language Editor for Crossing Borders.
Comments 8
Maggie Holliday — July 17, 2009
Thanks for this review and making me aware of this author and this book. I had never heard of either before. It sounds like reading and information that needs to be widely spread. I was reading just this week how the VA is admitting they have failed the female soldier.
Girls, Grrrls, Gurls « Shawna’s Blog — July 17, 2009
[...] shira tarrant, women in combat, women in the military Just did my first guest-blog on Girl With Pen—a review of Kirsten Holmstedt’s book, The Girls Come Marching Home. I still hate this [...]
Patricia Moyer — July 18, 2009
Thanks!
Found this review helpful since it allays any concerns that the book is "hooah" war or anti-war. Let's us know it's well-balanced account of the issues women face in the military during wartime.
Jim Crandall — July 20, 2009
Our government does too many things when they are ill prepared to face the after effects of what happens to real people during hard times. No, not hard times, indescribable times. There are too many good people who go to war, then come back a different person, never to be the same. And the fact that our fellow American women service members have to contend with their own comrades and worry about sexual assault is just too much. I look forward to reading this book and learning even more about than what I learned first hand from fellow Marines that served and returned. Being a recently retired Marine, it will be that much more interesting.
shawnak — July 20, 2009
Thanks for reading, all. I really had no idea that women-in-combat was still considered an 'experiment' until I read this book. Holmstedt is breaking new and interesting ground by exploring this. The stories took me on an emotional rollercoaster.
Lee Kagan — July 20, 2009
Thanks for an excellent review of a book that puts a female face on a topic (soldiers returning from war) that is covered by the MSM mainly from a male perspective. There are aspects of readjustment to life after the traumas of war that are unique to women as Shawna points out. PTSD in returning vets is a huge problem. (97 new patients in just one day last week at a large VA Hospital here in California where my friend directs the psychiatry program.) The VA system is simply overwhelmed. PTSD's impact on the special relationship mother's have with their children can linger for a lifetime. (Just ask children of Holocaust survivors.) And the added horrors of woman in combat zones having to contend with sexual assault is rarely touched on by the media. Kudos to the author for showing us an often overlooked aspect of America at war.
Yves — July 22, 2009
I just loved this insightful review, by Ms. Kenney of this book that places much needed emphasis on the aftermath of female soldiers returning from war. This is a demographic of troops, not always talked about. Obviously, female soldiers are plighted with their own unique aftershocks of war. I believe women should not be considered experimental, but should serve with dignity and pride along with their male counterparts. I am just purely anti-war as a whole and think they should all come home, man and woman.
Aurora — July 23, 2009
Ms Kenney's review sparked my interest in reading the book. Having come of age during the Viet Nam War, I am keenly aware of the emotional distress of the returning soldiers. Women soldiers returning from today's wars is of special interest and Kenny's review touched on my concerns without being on-sided or glorifying the book. I am left to discover my own conclusions. I have often thought why in the 21st Century does humanity still look to war to solve its differences. I look forward to reading The Girls Come Marching Home