My Story: Blogs by Four Military Teens, by Deanne and Michelle Sherman, is a series of blogs by four military teens that showcases their feelings and experiences before, during, and after parental deployment. Although the characters in My Story are fictional, the stories are based on real life experiences and conversations with military teens. Topics raised with special sensitivity are the emotional issues surrounding deployment, and concrete impacts on families, such as PTSD, clinical depression, and substance abuse. Pride in their parent’s military service, and what the authors call "post-traumatic growth" are also strong themes. Here's an excerpt from one of the blogs:
"I’ve got a big soccer tournament and Dad says he’s not coming—some lame excuse about too many people, too much noise, and he can’t handle the traffic. Mom will be there, though—that’s good. I really cannot believe Dad is not coming. He’s quiet and so nervous now—the littlest thing totally freaks him out. Just last week Ashley and Lisa were playing cards—slap Jack—on the kitchen table, and Dad came unglued. the sound of them slapping the table really set him off, and he yelled at my sisters. I kinda felt badly for them, so I took them out for ice cream later that night.
Anyway, I wish I could have some friends over to the house but I think it would be embarrassing. I never know how Dad is going to act. "
Statistics show military children sought mental health care 2 million times in 2008, doubling since 2003. Clearly the war is in Iraq and Afghanistan are having a great impact on teenagers. Though they need far more than books to read, perhaps these books might serve well to help non-military teens understand their friends. If they, like so many, don't have friends from military families, this book might be even more useful to help them see there is a different world just beyond their neighborhood.
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