St Paul , MN: A young lieutenant's wife comes dangerously close to alcoholism. Marriages are pushed to the breaking point by the constant strain of fifteen months apart. It's the story of the war in Iraq that has only begun to be explored: how modern military families are coping during one of the longest and largest combat deployments since Vietnam.

In A Year of Absence: Six women’s stories of courage, hope, and love, author Jessica Redmond skillfully brings to life the stories of six women who must find a way to guide themselves and their families through a difficult fifteen months when their husbands go to war in Iraq as part of the U.S. Army's First Armored Division, based in Baumholder, Germany.

Each morning the women anxiously scan the headlines, wondering if they still have a husband, if their children still have a father. Some form friendships that become their lifeline. Others somehow find courage despite their isolation. Through tearful goodbyes, long-awaited communication from the front, and joyful yet troubled reunions, Redmond captures what life is truly like for many families of deployed soldiers: the ever-present fear of death, the pressures of single-parenthood, and the strength and comfort that come with the support of close friends.

Redmond knows firsthand the anxiety and loneliness that can come with a spouse's deployment. In April 2003, during their first year of marriage, her husband was sent to Iraq with the First Armored Division. As the first months of the deployment dragged on, Redmond set out to discover how other wives were dealing with the separation. "I wanted to learn as much as I could from those around me," she said. "How, so far from home and family and with so many burdens to shoulder, were other Army spouses coping?"

What she discovered was a universal story about women, friendships, marriage, and family. "When I began to write A Year of Absence, I thought it was going to be a book about war and its effect on military families. But it became something more along the way, something that surprised me," Redmond said. "It’s certainly a window into the intimate struggles unique to military families. But more than anything, this is a story about six very different women, placed in a difficult situation, struggling to hold their marriages and families together and finding the courage and faith it takes to do so.”

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ELVA RESA PUBLISHING LLC is an independent publisher based in St Paul , Minnesota , whose mission is to make a positive difference in people’s lives. For more information, visit www.elvaresa.com.

Buy this book at www.militaryfamilybooks.com