Starred review from February 19, 2024
Journalist Gorrindo meditates in her powerfully candid debut on the good, bad, and ugly of military marriage. When Gorrindo’s boyfriend, Andrew, announced in 2007 that he’d been thinking about enlisting in the Army since shortly after 9/11, she wasn’t sure she could handle being an Army wife. She married him anyway, and soon after their wedding, the couple moved from New York City to Columbus, Ga., where Andrew began basic training at Fort Benning. After he completed Ranger School, Andrew embarked on a series of deployments in Afghanistan, and Gorrindo struggled to contend with his absences. She found solace in other military wives in Columbus, who surprised her with their warmth and grit. Gorrindo writes lyrically and unsparingly about the difficulties of life as a military spouse (“People told us, from time to time, that we knew what we were ‘signing up for.’ But who really knows what she is signing up for?”), highlighting the loneliness and fear of widowhood that permeated her and her friends’ daily routines. She offers plenty of joy as well, from tender passages about giving birth to her daughter, Fiona, to moving, unsentimental sections about finding camaraderie within her diverse group of Columbus friends. It’s a haunting, beautifully written celebration of found sisterhood. Agent: Michelle Brower, Aevitas Creative Management.
Starred review from September 13, 2024
In her debut memoir, Gorrindo regales listeners with a candid, self-narrated account of her early married life as she tried to make sense of her husband Andrew's U.S. Army pursuits. Gorrindo recalls the loneliness of her life as a military newlywed and her relief when she connected with the other army wives in Columbus, GA. Gorrindo quickly learned to put her fears aside whenever the phone, a frequent bearer of bad news, rang; she also learned to band together with other army wives to get answers when their husbands were incommunicado. Throughout her husband's tours of duty in Afghanistan, Gorrindo finds her feet as Andrew transforms into a gritty soldier (although, as she reveals, what she really wanted was a more attentive partner). Finding out they're pregnant before his second tour makes the months and miles apart a lesson in sacrifice until their daughter arrives. Ultimately, however, the couple realizes they can chart their course and have much to be thankful for. VERDICT Gorrindo's memoir is a must-listen for those seeking an inside look at the toll that military service and constant deployment take on the families left behind. A tribute to U.S. military spouses everywhere.--Sharon Sherman
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