Rachel Starnes's new book is The War at Home: A Wife’s Search for Peace (and Other Missions Impossible): A Memoir.From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: What do you think are some of the most common perceptions and misperceptions about military spouses?Visit Rachel Starnes's website.
A: I’m so glad you asked that question because it’s been on my mind a lot lately. Less than one half of one percent of the population of the United States currently serves in the military. That means that many people don’t come into regular and sustained contact with someone currently serving.
Instead, much of our exposure to the military is through what we see on the news or in movies or on social media, and many of those outlets perpetuate certain stereotypes about who serves in the military, why they serve, how they vote, and what struggles they face.
And it’s been my experience that however narrow those assumptions are about service members, they get even narrower when the conversation turns to their spouses.
I think many of us are assumed to be entirely unconflicted about our roles, or patriotic and subservient to our husbands and the unique demands of their careers in a way that makes us seem like we’re from another era.
The fact of the matter is that military spouses are...[read on]
The Page 99 Test: The War at Home.
--Marshal Zeringue