Jehanne Dubrow held a contest/giveaway on her blog recently and I won a copy of her book of poetry entitled Stateside. Sadly the package did not arrive with a giant sized box of Kleenex which I highly recommend you purchase before sitting down with this book.
I admit that I have always had an intense respect for Jehanne. She is a faculty member at Washington College, which I find very inspirational, since I still think I want to go tenure-track. So far, she's the only milspouse I've met that has managed to swing my dream job. That makes her tough as nails in my book.
I haven't read every word yet. I think it is too weighty for me to digest in one sitting. I found that each selection I read as I flipped through the book brought me back to some moment of my marriage to Senior Jefe. Reading felt so personal, like she was at once essentially "strumming my pain with [her] fingers" and at the same time I was voyeuristically watching her lay bare the very essence of herself in a way that I do not have the courage to do.
I found her comparisons to Penelope from the Odyssey incredibly clever, providing a familiar place for people who don't live this life an easy entry point into our world. And, as someone who has read the Iliad and the Odyssey in Latin for my Latin classes in high school, I found it refreshing to see these stories humanized and put into the perspective of the modern world.
I strongly suggest you buy the book and read it for yourself. It is a very portable version of every military spouse's story and a window into a world that most Americans find completely alien.
I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to win such a wonderful book. I want to thank Jehanne for hosting the contest and providing me the opportunity to see myself reflected in another's eyes.
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