With careers ranging from preschool teacher to psych nurse, Julie LaBelle's most challenging role was mothering her three young children during her Marine husband's deployments, and then years  later standing by when their son enlisted and deployed with the Marines. Julie wrote the activities in My Dad's Deployment "entirely based on things I should have done, but didn't, during deployments," Julie says.  With 20/20 hindsight, Julie gets a do-over in life by sharing activities for young children that will be loved by parents and children alike as they face deployment together. More

Mary Redman has experienced many joys and challenges as a military wife and mother over the past 20 years. She has managed pack-outs, given birth, visited emergency rooms, heralded holidays, bid farewell to grandparents, and attended numerous school events while her husband was deployed. Her experience with military deployments encouraged her to write The Wishing Tree, a picture book of hope. More

Jessica Redmond has worked as a teacher, freelance journalist, Peace Corps volunteer, and community organizer, but one of her most challenging roles has been as a military wife. In April 2003, during their first year of marriage, her husband was sent to Iraq as part of the U.S. Army's First Armored Division. As the deployment dragged on, Jessica set out to discover how other wives were coping. She tells six women’s stories in her first book, A Year of Absence. Jessica has written for Stars and Stripes and The Dallas Morning News. More

Born overseas to multicultural parents, Christina Rodriguez grew up as an Air Force brat, moving from place to place. Christina loved to draw and paint. She was awarded a generous scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a fine arts degree in illustration. Christina is an award-winning children’s book illustrator. She drew on her experiences growing up in a military family to bring a range of emotions into her paintings for The Wishing Tree. More

After her step-son, U.S. Army Sergeant Patrick Tainsh, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Deborah Tainsh wrote Heart of a Hawk: One family’s sacrifice & journey toward healing. Known for her good cheer and compassion, Deborah speaks with military families and civilians around the country. Her message: We must honor the heroism of our nation’s armed forces and the families left behind. Deborah’s poems are included in the National Endowment for the Arts archives of Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience. More